LONG BEACH >> There will be no more vaping allowed in Long Beach public spaces.

The City Council voted 5-1 on Tuesday to add electronic cigarettes to the city tobacco ordinance, requiring sellers of the devices and derivatives to comply with the law and prohibiting their use in smoke-free areas.

Councilman Dee Andrews, who first proposed the restrictions in December, called the move a “good first step” toward protecting public health.

“Young people are getting their hands on and using these addictive devices,” Andrews said.

Electronic cigarettes are available in varying shapes and sizes, and contain a battery-powered device that heats a coil inside a compartment containing flavored water, vaporizing it and allowing the user to inhale nicotine.

Some claim e-cigarettes are a more healthful alternative to traditional cigarettes, but others say more study is needed on the chemicals in the vaporized liquid, which include propylene (a preservative used in food, tobacco products and personal care products), ethylene (a coolant in antifreeze) and diethylene (a component in brake fluid, lubricants, skin cream and deodorant).

E-cigarettes, introduced in the United States in 2007, was projected to be a $1.2 billion industry with 4 million customers last year, according to the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association.

While public health officials grapple with limited knowledge about the effects of electronic cigarettes, governments across the country have been passing laws limiting the devices.

Norwalk, Bellflower, Cerritos and Seal Beach passed one-year bans on new e-cigarette retailers last year.

In November, Lakewood approved an ordinance to regulate the devices the same as cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to eventually regulate e-cigarettes.

Before the council vote, several speakers spoke both for and against the proposal.

The Rev. Jack Kearney, an addiction counselor at the Family Intervention Center in Lakewood, said e-cigarettes have assisted many in beating their cigarette smoking habit.

“There is enough science to say they are 100 times safer than cigarettes and are by far our most effective tool for helping people quit smoking,” Kearney said.

Vice Mayor Robert Garcia voted no. Council members Gary DeLong, Patrick O’Donnell and Gerrie Schipske were absent for the vote.

Earlier on Tuesday, council members voted unanimously to approve a motion by O’Donnell directing city staff return with an analysis of seismically retrofitting City Hall.

The action was an alternative to an agenda item by Schipske requesting the suspension of a $1 million consulting contract to assist the city with issuing a proposal to rebuild the downtown Civic Center.

Schipske, whose proposal did not receive a second, has said the process to rebuild the 37-year-old facility is being “railroaded” through and should be delayed until the new council and mayor takes office on July 15.

Contact Eric Bradley at 562-499-1254.