On Tuesday, the Los Angeles city council joined a growing list of city governments that have banned e cigarette use in parks, restaurants, and most workplaces.

The decision came after a heated debate at the City Council that highlighted the backlash smokeless cigarettes have generated as their popularity grows. Inform yourself on the new smoking trend with this Reason TV documentary short.

This video originally aired Oct 29, 2013. Original writeup is below

Electronic cigarettes are creating a frenzy among politicians, health experts, and the media. Local banson using e cigarettes indoors are popping up all over the country, and many interest groups are clamoring for top down FDA regulations, which are expected to be released in the coming weeks.

E Cigarettes currently exist in a complete no man s land, says Heather Wipfli, associate director for the USC Institute for Global Health. Skeptics such as Wipfli worry about the lack of long term data available because the product is so new.

But according to the Consumer Advocates for Smoke Free Alternatives Association s Greg Conley, calls for regulation are “a perverse interpretation of the precautionary principle. The precautionary principle holds that until all possible risks are assessed, new technologies shouldn’t be allowed to move forward.

Conley points to preliminary studies, like this one from Drexel University, which confirm these smokeless, tobacco less, tar less products are not a cause for concern or at least not a cause for the same concerns that accompany traditional cigarettes and second hand smoke.

That Drexel University professor concluded that there was absolutely no worry about risks to bystanders from e cigarette vapor, says Conley.

The ingredients of e cigarettes certainly have very little in common with tobacco cigarettes. Nicotine, the only ingredient found in both products, is mainly used to wean smokers off traditional cigarettes and is not one of the harm inducing ingredients associated with lung cancer in smokers. The other ingredients in the e juice at the core of e cigarettes are propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and food flavorings all of which are used in other food products.

All we are doing is steaming up food ingredients to create a vapor, says Ed Refuerzo, co owner of The Vape Studio in West Los Angeles. The Vape Studio is one of the many boutique e cigarette shops popping up that might be significantly affected or even shut down by both local legislation and FDA regulations.

Conley says it’s the currently unregulated customizability of the e juice that allows these small businesses to thrive. The availability of liquids is what is allowing a lot of these small stores to open and prosper because they are able to mix their own liquid and sell it to consumers without having to go through a big manufacturing process, says Conley.

The higher costs of complying with regulations would most likely be passed on to consumers, which would impact people who are looking towards e cigarettes as an effective way to quit smoking.

We re using technology, and that s what we do in America, we use technology to solve really complicated problems, says Craig Weiss, president and CEO of NJOY. NJOY is a leading manufacturer of electronic cigarettes and a donor to Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes Reason TV. Weiss says that despite regulations, the potential of the industry is only just starting to be realized.

The electronic industry is growing at quite a dramatic pace. It s more than doubled each of the last four or five years,” says Weiss. “This piece of technology could have such an potential impact on the world.

About 6 minutes.

Los angeles follows new york with e-cigarette ban

The city of Los Angeles this week moved to ban the use of electronic cigarettes in some public spaces, following similar restrictions passed in New York and Chicago. As Reuters reports, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously yesterday to ban “vaping” in restaurants, bars, parks, and other areas where cigarette smoking is prohibited. The ordinance would go into effect 30 days after Mayor Eric Garcetti signs it into law.

The measure first came up for debate in February, after Los Angeles passed new regulations prohibiting the sale of so called e cigarettes to minors. Proponents of the ban say e cigarettes could be used as a gateway for young people to start smoking real cigarettes, though detractors say the ordinance goes too far. One council member proposed exempting bars and nightclubs from the ban, noting that they’re traditionally adult spaces. Vaping lounges and stores are exempt from the ordinance passed Tuesday, and e cigarettes would still be allowed for “theatrical purposes.”


“this proposal is misguided because it would do a public health disservice.”

Some studies have suggested that the chemicals contained in e cigarette cartridges are far less harmful than cigarette smoke, but public health experts say too little is known about the long term effects of the second hand vapor that e cigarettes produce. Others have argued that the ban may encourage former smokers to return to normal cigarettes.

“Such restrictions make sense for traditional tobacco cigarettes,” Charles D. Connor, former president and CEO of the American Lung Association, wrote in a blog post on the proposed ban last month. “But this proposal is misguided because it would do a public health disservice, discouraging smokers from switching to less harmful electronic cigarettes that do not combust tobacco and therefore, do not create second hand smoke.”

  • Via NBC Los Angeles
  • Source Reuters
  • Related Items health smoke california los angeles ban public health e cigs e cigarettes vaping