Richmond city councillors voted unanimously to ban advertisements for vaping products on city property at their Tuesday meeting.
They adopted a motion to prevent vaping or e-cigarette ads on bus shelters, benches and "other street furniture."
City Solicitor Anthony Capuccinello Iraci wrote a report to council suggesting the city should take a stance following more than two dozen deaths and 1,300 sicknesses tied to vaping in the U.S. and calls by Canadian doctors to abstain from the products.
A policy against vaping ads "promotes public health and brings attention to the serious health risks associated with vaping, particularly for youth and minors who are often the target audience of such advertising," Iraci wrote.
On Wednesday, B.C.'s public health officer announced the province's first probable case of vaping-related illness, and said other reports could be confirmed in the coming weeks.
