Laws will
make electronic cigarettes subject to same regulations as tobacco, as sellers
and users are steadfast in their opposition
theguardian.com,
Associated Press in New York, Tuesday 29 April 2014
 |
| Talia Eisenberg, co-founder of the Henley Vaporium, uses her vaping device in New York. Photograph: Frank Franklin II /AP |
Laws in New York and Chicago making electronic cigarettes subject to the same regulations as tobacco are taking effect, and their sellers and users are steadfast in their opposition.
The New
York ban – along with the measure in Chicago, one that previously went into
effect in Los Angeles and federal regulations proposed last week – are keeping
the debate smoldering among public health officials, the e-cigarette industry
and users.
Proponents
of the bans, which began Tuesday, say they are aimed at preventing the
re-acceptance of smoking as a societal norm, particularly among teenagers who
could see the tobacco-free electronic cigarettes, with their candy-like
flavorings and celebrity endorsers, as a gateway to cancer-causing tobacco
products.
Dr Thomas
Farley, the New York City health commissioner under former Mayor Michael
Bloomberg, says allowing electronic cigarettes in bars and restaurants would
undermine existing bans on tobacco-based products.
"Imagine
for a moment you're at a bar and there are 20 people who are puffing on
something that looks like a cigarette and then somebody smells something that
smells like tobacco smoke," Farley says. "How's the bartender going
to know who to tap on the shoulder and say, 'Put that out'?"
Makers of
the devices say marketing them as e-cigarettes has confused lawmakers into
thinking they are the same as tobacco-based cigarettes. They say the bans
ostracize people who want an alternative to tobacco products and will be
especially hard on ex-smokers who are being lumped into the same smoking areas
as tobacco users.
Their
defenders also say they're a good way to quit tobacco, even though science is murky
on the claim.
Peter
Denholtz, the chief executive and co-founder of the Henley Vaporium in
Manhattan, says electronic cigarettes "could be the greatest invention of
our lifetime in terms of saving lives" by moving smokers away from
traditional cigarettes.
"This
law just discourages that," he says.
Chris
Jehly, a 31-year-old Brooklyn resident, also defends the devices as a vehicle
for quitting.
"The
tougher they're going to make it on vapers, the tougher it is people are going
to find an actual vehicle for quitting or as a supplement to cigarettes,"
Jehly says from his perch at the counter at Henley. "There's no need for
it. This is working so much better than patches or gum or prescription
drugs."
Robin
Koval, chief executive of the anti-smoking Legacy Foundation, says that while
ingredients in electronic cigarettes are not as harmful as those in tobacco
products, they are still a concern because they contain highly addictive
nicotine. The National Institutes of Health says users could expose themselves
to toxic levels of nicotine while refilling the devices or even use them to
smoke other substances.
Since
little evidence exists on the effect of the devices on smoking – whether as an
aid in quitting, a gateway for non-smokers or a bridge to keep smokers hooked
longer – she says she favors a legislative approach that balances public health
with the development of safer alternatives.
"The
right way forward will be a way that promotes innovation that helps us do
everything we possibly can to get combustible tobacco to be history,"
Koval says. "We want a generation of Americans where, for them, cigarettes
are a thing of the past – an artifact like a roll of film or a rotary
telephone."
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