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Wednesday, January 28, 2015 4:18:49 PM
California declares electronic cigarettes a health threat
By FENIT NIRAPPIL
Jan. 28, 2015 3:42 PM EST
FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2013, file photo, John Hartigan, proprietor of Vapeology LA, a store selling electronic cigarettes and related items, takes a puff of an electronic cigarette at his store in Los Angeles.
A California state lawmaker has introduced legislation Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, that would ban the use of increasingly popular electronic cigarettes in public spaces. The bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would classify the devices that heat liquid nicotine into vapor as tobacco products similar to cigarettes. That would prohibit Californians from using the devices in restaurants, buses, hospitals and other places they cannot smoke. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2013, file photo, John Hartigan, right, proprietor of Vapeology LA, sits behind an array of electronic cigarettes at his store in Los Angeles. A California state lawmaker has introduced legislation Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, that would ban the use of increasingly popular electronic cigarettes in public spaces. The bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would classify the devices that heat liquid nicotine into vapor as tobacco products similar to cigarettes. That would prohibit Californians from using the devices in restaurants, buses, hospitals and other places they cannot smoke. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California health officials on Wednesday declared electronic cigarettes a health threat that should be strictly regulated like tobacco products, joining other states and health advocates across the U.S. in seeking tighter controls as "vaping" grows in popularity.
The California Department of Public Health report says e-cigarettes emit cancer-causing chemicals and get users hooked on nicotine but acknowledges that more research needs to be done to determine the immediate and long-term health effects.
New generations of young people will become nicotine addicts if the products remain largely unregulated, California Health Officer Ron Chapman said.
"Without action, it is likely that California's more than two decades of progress to prevent and reduce traditional tobacco use will erode as e-cigarettes re-normalize smoking behavior," the report says.
E-cigarettes heat liquid nicotine from cartridges into inhalable vapor without the tar and other chemicals found in traditional cigarettes. E-cigarette makers say using their products, known as "vaping," is far safer than tobacco.
"Despite the health officer's false claims, there is ample evidence that vaping helps smokers quit and is far less hazardous than smoking," Gregory Conley, president of the e-cigarette advocacy group American Vaping Association, said in an email. "Smokers deserve truthful and accurate information about the relative risks of different nicotine products, not hype and conjecture based on cherry-picked reports."
The California report called for restrictions on the marketing and sale of e-cigarettes, protections against accidental ingestion of liquid nicotine and an education campaign on the dangers of using e-cigarettes. California banned the sale of e-cigarettes to minors in 2010.
A state senator introduced legislation this week that would regulate e-cigarettes as tobacco products and ban their use in public places such as hospitals, bars and schools. A similar bill was defeated last year over opposition from tobacco companies.
Other states, including Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arkansas, already have issued advisories cautioning the use of e-cigarettes.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/452ad9ec34ac4a1280f2b8ce8ef441e9/california-declares-electronic-cigarettes-health-threat
By FENIT NIRAPPIL
Jan. 28, 2015 3:42 PM EST
FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2013, file photo, John Hartigan, proprietor of Vapeology LA, a store selling electronic cigarettes and related items, takes a puff of an electronic cigarette at his store in Los Angeles.
A California state lawmaker has introduced legislation Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, that would ban the use of increasingly popular electronic cigarettes in public spaces. The bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would classify the devices that heat liquid nicotine into vapor as tobacco products similar to cigarettes. That would prohibit Californians from using the devices in restaurants, buses, hospitals and other places they cannot smoke. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2013, file photo, John Hartigan, right, proprietor of Vapeology LA, sits behind an array of electronic cigarettes at his store in Los Angeles. A California state lawmaker has introduced legislation Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, that would ban the use of increasingly popular electronic cigarettes in public spaces. The bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would classify the devices that heat liquid nicotine into vapor as tobacco products similar to cigarettes. That would prohibit Californians from using the devices in restaurants, buses, hospitals and other places they cannot smoke. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California health officials on Wednesday declared electronic cigarettes a health threat that should be strictly regulated like tobacco products, joining other states and health advocates across the U.S. in seeking tighter controls as "vaping" grows in popularity.
The California Department of Public Health report says e-cigarettes emit cancer-causing chemicals and get users hooked on nicotine but acknowledges that more research needs to be done to determine the immediate and long-term health effects.
New generations of young people will become nicotine addicts if the products remain largely unregulated, California Health Officer Ron Chapman said.
"Without action, it is likely that California's more than two decades of progress to prevent and reduce traditional tobacco use will erode as e-cigarettes re-normalize smoking behavior," the report says.
E-cigarettes heat liquid nicotine from cartridges into inhalable vapor without the tar and other chemicals found in traditional cigarettes. E-cigarette makers say using their products, known as "vaping," is far safer than tobacco.
"Despite the health officer's false claims, there is ample evidence that vaping helps smokers quit and is far less hazardous than smoking," Gregory Conley, president of the e-cigarette advocacy group American Vaping Association, said in an email. "Smokers deserve truthful and accurate information about the relative risks of different nicotine products, not hype and conjecture based on cherry-picked reports."
The California report called for restrictions on the marketing and sale of e-cigarettes, protections against accidental ingestion of liquid nicotine and an education campaign on the dangers of using e-cigarettes. California banned the sale of e-cigarettes to minors in 2010.
A state senator introduced legislation this week that would regulate e-cigarettes as tobacco products and ban their use in public places such as hospitals, bars and schools. A similar bill was defeated last year over opposition from tobacco companies.
Other states, including Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arkansas, already have issued advisories cautioning the use of e-cigarettes.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/452ad9ec34ac4a1280f2b8ce8ef441e9/california-declares-electronic-cigarettes-health-threat
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