Dallas, TX
Dallas closer to banning vaping in public spaces
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/UKFNFXM2DVC4ZMM7RXBYX5RJHA.jpg?ssl=1 "Dallas closer to banning vaping in public spaces")
Dallas is weighing recommendations from a citizen-led advisory group to ban vaping in public spaces to protect vulnerable populations from what it considers harmful secondhand exposure.
At a Parks, Trails and the Environment committee meeting this month, Folashade Afolabi, with the Dallas Environmental Commission, said her group recommends the city expand its definition of smoking to include e-cigarettes, cigars and vapes that create an aerosol or vapor.
The policy change would bring the city up to a “gold standard” of public health, Afolabi said, adding that the change is recommended by the American Lung Association, American Heart Association and World Health Organization.
“Unfortunately, you’ll see some of the data shows that there are many children that are teenagers who are dual smoking,” Afolabi said. “So they came into the tobacco world and the cigarette world from e-cigarettes and now have ventured over to combustible cigarettes.”
City staff are still working on making amendments to the parts of the code prohibiting smoking and have a goal to present it to City Council in the next two or three months, said Carlos Evans, director of Dallas’ Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability.
But the Parks, Trails and Environment committee will get another briefing before the full Council, he said. Dallas trails behind other Texas cities in banning e-cigarettes. Vaping was banned in Austin in 2017 and in Houston in 2022.
“The smoking ordinance passed long, long before vaping became trendy,” Evans said. “But now vaping is on the rise. It’s popular for certain groups, including teenagers, which is causing significant firsthand and secondhand health impacts.”
Evans said he spoke with local restaurant owners, who have told him the policy change would be welcomed since it would help with enforcement.
“They believe that this may be helpful to them because they don’t have to police people in their restaurants to figure out who’s vaping versus who’s smoking?” Evans said.
Dr. Philip Huang, the director of Dallas County’s Health and Human Services department, presented data to the committee showing that although the number of Texas teens using e-cigarettes has fallen over the years, the prevalence is still high among youth.
More than 23% of youth in 2014 reported using e-cigarettes, according to Texas A&M University’s 2014-21 Texas Youth Tobacco Survey. In 2021, about 16% of teens reported using e-cigarettes.
“What we’ve made tremendous progress in is in conventional smoking rates and reductions in those, especially among youth,” Huang said.
From 1999 until 2019, traditional cigarette use among 12th graders fell from 35% to 8.2%, according to the National Youth Tobacco Survey.
E-cigarette use among 12th graders rose dramatically, from 1.6% in 2011 to 34.5% in 2019.
“E-cigarettes are reintroducing and re-addicting a whole generation of kids to nicotine, which is very concerning for all of us,” Huang said.
According to Dallas County data, a January 2020 outbreak of severe lung illnesses related to e-cigarette exposure affected 63 people, 35% of whom were kids under 18 years old.
“They were very severe,” Huang said “I remember visiting a couple of the cases in the hospital, many of them requiring ICU hospitalizations and so it is potentially a very serious public health issue.”
In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked an epidemic of more than 2,800 hospitalizations and 68 deaths related to a vitamin E acetate byproduct in illicit e-cigarettes, which prompted a public health response with bans and educational campaigns warning young adults of the risks.
The spike in reported lung injuries gripped the country and Dallas County reported a swell of hospitalizations and a few deaths related to the epidemic. A Dallas County teen with underlying health conditions died in 2020 from complications caused by vaping use, according to the county.
Banning vaping in public spaces appears to face little opposition from City Council members or some businesses that sell vaping products in Dallas.
Regulating the use of e-cigarettes in public spaces is smart for Dallas, said Bridget Payrot, the director of operations and human resources for The Gas Pipe, which operates five smoke shops throughout Dallas.
“We back that policy,” Payrot said. “First and foremost, the safety of everyone involved is the most critical element.”
Residents in public should have the right to breathe healthy air, Payrot said, adding that secondhand exposure to any smoke should be regulated.
“We’ve always just felt that you should be treating vaping as smoking no matter what,” Payrot said.
Dallas City Council member Paula Blackmon said at the meeting that the data on kids’ growing e-cigarette use was alarming considering how addictive nicotine can be. She wants to see the city create a public awareness campaign to educate more teens and parents about the potential dangers of vaping.
“We might want to even do a broader campaign and maybe partnering with the health department in this and working with parents,” Blackmon said. “Because once you get hooked, it’s kind of hard to come off of it.”
Dallas City Council member Jesse Moreno said he was proud to be part of the 2016 smoking ban in city parks and trails the city adopted.
But he said he wants to see some exceptions that were carved out – like allowing use at the State Fair of Texas, golf courses and gun ranges – to be “folded back into the broad regulation” as the city attempts to amend the code.
Dallas, TX
FOX’s Kasper Schmeichel compares England to Dallas Cowboys, so who are their other sports analogs?
Scottish World Cup fans reportedly drink Boston dry
Dana Perino announces that Scottish World Cup fans have caused an unprecedented beer shortage in Boston, emptying bars and liquor stores. Jesse Watters playfully observes that Europeans visiting America seem to “love it,” despite negative media portrayals, while Greg Gutfeld adds a satirical comment about “liberal mayors” and local resource management, contrasting Boston’s beer woes with LA’s water and Chicago’s Bears.
FOX Soccer analyst Kasper Schmeichel came prepared for this year’s World Cup on American soil.
The former Danish goalkeeper may not be from around these parts, but that didn’t stop him from dropping an eerily accurate comparison between two overconfident but long-suffering sports programs.
With England and Croatia warming up inside AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, Schmeichel decided he would roast two fanbases with one stone, comparing the Cowboys to the Three Lions with a hilarious one-liner.
Funny, but also painfully true if you’re a supporter of either team.
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I made a comparison last week between the English national team and Notre Dame, but Schmeichel got me thinking, who are the sports analogs to England from the four major North American leagues (NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA)?
Today, I will be doing exactly that, including giving a slightly better NFL comp than the Cowboys (shocking, I know).
Without further ado, let’s piss off our neighbors from across the pond.
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NFL – Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears helmets are displayed before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nev., on Sept. 28, 2025. (Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)
While the Dallas Cowboys are a fine comparison for the English national soccer team, I think I can do one better.
Schmeichel mentioned that England “won it once and have never stopped talking about it,” and although the second part of that statement applies to both, the Cowboys are five-time Super Bowl champions, having won it most recently in January 1996, a good three decades after England.
If you really want a team that more accurately mirrors the hard luck of the English, it would have to be the Chicago Bears.
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They have one Super Bowl win to their name, which came 40 years ago, and really don’t have much else to show for it.
Also, having lived in the DFW area for the better part of a decade, I can confidently say Cowboys fans are a little too arrogant and cocky to be compared to the English.
Sure, England will say things like “it’s coming home,” but they are far more self-deprecating and aware of their faults, even nihilistic in some cases.
The Bears hang onto their history because they know things will inevitably go bad for them on the biggest stage.
Speaking of which…
NHL – Toronto Maple Leafs
Spencer Carbery, assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, looks on from the bench during the third period against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ont., on April 14, 2022. (Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Toronto Maple Leafs actually line up with England more closely than either fanbase would like to admit.
While the Leafs have a litany of Stanley Cups to their name, their most recent win was back in 1967, less than a full year after England won their first and only World Cup.
As far as expectations go, both constantly go into their respective tournaments with the weight of the world on their shoulders, only to come crashing down in the most horrific ways imaginable.
For the Leafs, it comes in the form of blowing big leads in the playoffs, while English fans and players alike can’t even hear the words “penalty kicks” without having a mental breakdown.
England and Toronto are both long-suffering cities, but their fans keep showing up expecting a different outcome.
Insanity? No, just sports fandom.
NBA – New York Knicks
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks celebrates a three-point basket with Karl-Anthony Towns during Game Two of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on June 5, 2026. (Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
This one would have been an even better comparison if the New York Knicks hadn’t gone and won the whole damn thing this year, but these two sports teams are still eerily similar.
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Think of the Knicks’ 2026 NBA Championship run as a window into what it would look like if England captured a World Cup (on American soil, no less).
Before this year, the Knicks famously had not won a Larry O’Brien trophy in over 50 years, yet they were still considered one of the “blue bloods” of the NBA.
Decades of heartache didn’t change that; it only made their fans more insufferable, but their triumph earlier this month in the NBA Finals exorcised all those demons.
THE ATHLETIC BEWILDERINGLY CELEBRATES ‘ZOHRAN MAMDANI SPORTS SUMMER’ AFTER NEW YORK KNICKS WIN NBA FINALS
A win in the World Cup Finals would probably do the same for England fans, as you could probably feel that sigh of relief from the other side of the Atlantic.
MLB – New York Mets
New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto reacts after scoring a run on an RBI double by infielder Bo Bichette against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on April 2, 2026. (Robert Edwards/Imagn Images)
Hello again, New York.
The Big Apple certainly has its fair share of winners, but it also has plenty of franchises that are aching to make a trip back down the Canyon of Heroes, none more so than the Mets.
Year after year, the Mets are near the top of MLB in terms of spending, with little to show for their efforts.
WATCH THE WORLD CUP FINAL ON FOX ONE
They won a World Series back in 1986 and have been chasing that high ever since.
The common thread between England and the Mets (along with all the other teams on this list) is expectations relative to results, and it seems like the Mets are sort of a Schrödinger’s baseball franchise in that regard, expected to both compete for a World Series with their high-priced talent and flame out in spectacular fashion all the same.
FOX ONE’S NEW WORLD CUP VIEWING EXPERIENCE
England always has flashy players heading into World Cup play, but the results haven’t been there, and they’ve often been sent home in brutal fashion, offering a great parallel to the Mets’ clockwork-like midsummer swoons and late-season meltdowns.
Guerrocastillo was taken into custody without incident and charged with Prohibited Weapon, a third-degree felony; Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon, a class A misdemeanor; Possession of Marijuana under two ounces, a class B misdemeanor; and Public Intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
“Foot patrols are a foundational part of policing, and our Deep Ellum Task Force officers are making great arrests and providing increased security by walking a beat,” said Deputy Chief Devon Palk, who is commander of the Central Patrol Group. “Having our officers on foot, on horseback, and in our new Polaris utility vehicle puts officers exactly where we need them during peak hours in the area.”
Thousands of Croatia supporters turned downtown Dallas into a sea of red and white ahead of Croatia’s World Cup group-stage match against England. The parade featured cowgirls and groups in horse-drawn wagons and a 100-metre Croatian flag.
Published On 17 Jun 2026
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