Prohibiting puffing: E-cigarette ban proposed (prohibitionists make more misleading claims)
From an article:
Nate Dunn puffed away almost the entire time NewsChannel 13 interviewed him. But to be clear, Dunn hasn’t “smoked” in 18 months.
“I haven’t touched a cigarette,” Dunn explained.
That’s because what Dunn is doing is called “vaping.”
Vaping
, or electronic cigarettes, are smokeless devices that use a battery to vaporize, instead of burn, a liquid combination of nicotine and flavoring.
“It’s like smoking but 14,000 times safer,” Dunn explained.
The safety of e-cigarettes, however, is up for debate. E-cigs don’t contain tobacco and Dunn says he is comfortable with the ingredient list his online seller provides him — nicotine, flavoring and propylene glycol.
But some New York State lawmakers are not. Electronic cigarettes aren’t regulated. So there’s no requirement to detail what exactly they contain.
“We have no evidence they are safe. I don’t trust the word of the manufacturer because they are in the business to make money,” explained Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan.
Rosenthal is calling for an e-cigarette ban in New York State. Not permanently, but until the FDA makes a ruling on their health impact.
Right now vaping is allowed anywhere.
Electronic cigarettes are also being hailed by users as a smoking cessation tool. But unlike the patch or nicotine gum, e-cigs haven’t undergone repeated trials for proof.
“If these things are so good then submit them to the appropriate tests. Give evidence to the FDA and if they work, then great,” added Russ Sciandra, a lobbyist for the American Cancer Center.
Currently, there is no age limit on who has access either. The Rosenthal bill would change that.
“It’s very dangerous to allow minors to start with this,” Rosenthal insisted. “This can just be the first step to smoking cigarettes, which can be horribly addictive.”
That is something about which Rosenthal and Dunn do agree. Dunn smoked tobacco cigarettes for nearly 10 years and says he still would if it weren’t for his switch to e-cigs. The smoking alternative provides the experience, Dunn maintains, without the carcinogens.
“It’s the action the hand to mouth the moment of reflection it’s all that goes into it,” explained Dunn. “There’s a really good chance I’d go back to smoking (if a ban were to take effect).”
The few studies that are out there are conflicting. One credits e-cigarettes for a 31 percent quit rate, which is higher than other cessation products, but with a disclaimer that the ingredients need to be proven safe. The FDA calls the quality control processes used to manufacture e-cigs “substandard” or “non-existent.”