Commerce City is considering an amendment to the city’s existing ban on smoking in public parks and recreation facilities that would outlaw the use of electronic smoking devices in the same areas.

The issue went before council during a June study session after several teenage members of the local Boys & Girls Club in Commerce City presented a petition to ban e-cigarettes. The students were all members of SWAT — Students Working Against Tobacco — which is a grant-funded public health initiative through the Tri-County Health Department.

“The Commerce City Parks and Rec Department was thinking about banning e-cigarettes, and they knew that the Boys & Girls Club had already worked on banning regular cigarettes” in 2010, said Frannie Warren, a health specialist with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver. “E-cigarettes are easily accessible to most teens and there’s a general (misconception) that they are healthier than regular cigarettes.”

Council directed city staff to follow up on the petition by creating a presentation on the health effects of e-cigarettes, or vapor pens. Karen O’Donnell, Commerce City recreation manager, outlined a series of health and social concerns created by the e-cigarettes that included secondhand smoke consumption and allowing an environment where smoking is deemed appropriate.

She cited a 2013 study published in the International Journal of Indoor Environment and Health that found exhaled e-cigarette vapor contained propylene glycol, glycerol, flavorings, nicotine, acetone propanal, diacetin and triacitine.

Ward 4 Councilmember Jim Benson said harmful toxins emitted from the devices are in the same vein as cancer-causing cigarettes.

“It’s my understanding that these e-cigarettes have nicotine in them,” he said. “I would certainly agree that if we’re going to ban smoking, we ought to ban these things.”

The ordinance amendment is on the July 7 agenda for City Council’s consideration.

Warren said that the nicotine in e-cigarettes could be just as harmful, if not more, than cigarettes.

“We don’t know the amount of nicotine that is in each e-cigarette cartridge,” she said. “A lot of time people will say that they’re healthier for you, but there could actually be twice as much nicotine in them than regular cigarettes.”

Another concern is the versatility of the electronic cartridges. There’s no way to determine if a person using a vapor pen is smoking flavored nicotine, marijuana or other substances. Along with secondhand smoke concerns and marketing aimed at teenagers, that argument has been the center of the national debate over public use of vapor pens.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not fully studied the effects of e-cigarettes, but in April the agency announced plans to extend its authority to put health warnings and potential age restrictions on new tobacco products like e-cigarettes.

According to the national nonprofit Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, 108 municipalities nationwide have prohibited e-cigarettes from smokefree environments since January.

“We have to be prudent, we have to look into all of the information and make sure that we’re making a law that will prohibit people from having a negative effect on other people by use of these e-cigarettes,” said Commerce City Mayor Sean Ford.

Megan Mitchell: 303-954-2650, or mmitchell@denverpost.com