Health News
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Health News
Danville is latest Ky. community to ban indoor use of e-cigarettes, following new law that classifies them as tobacco product
The Danville City Commission has approved an ordinance that bans the use of e-cigs in enclosed places, placing the same restrictions on them that already exist on traditional tobacco cigarettes, though the health risk of e-cigs has not yet been determined, Todd Kleffman reports for The Advocate-Messenger.
Kleffman notes that Danville is among a few Kentucky communities leading the way on placing restrictions on e-cigs, which are battery-powered devices that emit vaporized nicotine, but not tobacco.
"Bardstown, Manchester and Madison County have placed an outright ban on public use of e-cigs, while Kenton County prohibits their use in the workplace, and Glasgow bans them in bars and restaurants, according to attorney Chris Johnson of the Kentucky League of Cities," Kleffman writes.
E-cigs have become increasingly popular as an alternative to smoking, and because the amount of nicotine can be adjusted in the vapor liquid, many use it as a means to quit smoking, although this claim has not been proven.
?Generally, it?s people who are trying to quit smoking or are looking for a cheaper, healthier, less offensive alternative,? Blayne Hogue, operator of Vapor Visions in Danville, told Kleffman. ?With the younger crowd it has appeal because of the taste and because it?s kind of the new thing.?
Speaking to the concern that vaporizing products with a "candy store array of flavors carrying names like Skittles, Pluto, Mother?s Milk and John Wayne" is designed to appeal to an underage crowd, Eric Griffiths, proprietor of the e-cig store Juice Box, asked, ?Why is that we have to be marketing to kids because it has flavors? Just because it?s an adult product doesn?t mean it has to taste bad.?
Neither store allows minors.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced last month that it will begin regulating e-cigs in the future, Kleffman notes, and the Kentucky General Assembly passed a law this year that puts
vapor products in the same class as tobacco cigarettes, prohibiting their sale to those under 18.
The state law, not complaints from local business owners or residents, is what prompted the Danville City Commission to enact its own ordinance banning e-cigs in enclosed public places, City Manager Ron Scott told Kleffman.
?The state now classifies them as a tobacco product. What makes them different? By our ordinance, there is no distinction,? Scott said to Kleffman. ?You can?t have it both ways. We had to clarify it for our businesses as to where they can be used. Vapor products contain nicotine, and from a public health point of view, there is an unknown amount of nicotine in the exhaled vapor that could affect others, like second-hand smoke. . . . Do you err on the side of caution, or do you just disregard the potential public health risks?"
The commission vote was 3-2, with Mayor Bernie Hunstad and Commissioner Kevin Caudill voting against the ban after two citizens argued that the prohibition was premature because no reliable research has proven that the devices create a public health concern.
Kleffman notes that Danville is among a few Kentucky communities leading the way on placing restrictions on e-cigs, which are battery-powered devices that emit vaporized nicotine, but not tobacco."Bardstown, Manchester and Madison County have placed an outright ban on public use of e-cigs, while Kenton County prohibits their use in the workplace, and Glasgow bans them in bars and restaurants, according to attorney Chris Johnson of the Kentucky League of Cities," Kleffman writes.
E-cigs have become increasingly popular as an alternative to smoking, and because the amount of nicotine can be adjusted in the vapor liquid, many use it as a means to quit smoking, although this claim has not been proven.
?Generally, it?s people who are trying to quit smoking or are looking for a cheaper, healthier, less offensive alternative,? Blayne Hogue, operator of Vapor Visions in Danville, told Kleffman. ?With the younger crowd it has appeal because of the taste and because it?s kind of the new thing.?
Speaking to the concern that vaporizing products with a "candy store array of flavors carrying names like Skittles, Pluto, Mother?s Milk and John Wayne" is designed to appeal to an underage crowd, Eric Griffiths, proprietor of the e-cig store Juice Box, asked, ?Why is that we have to be marketing to kids because it has flavors? Just because it?s an adult product doesn?t mean it has to taste bad.?
Neither store allows minors.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced last month that it will begin regulating e-cigs in the future, Kleffman notes, and the Kentucky General Assembly passed a law this year that puts
vapor products in the same class as tobacco cigarettes, prohibiting their sale to those under 18.
The state law, not complaints from local business owners or residents, is what prompted the Danville City Commission to enact its own ordinance banning e-cigs in enclosed public places, City Manager Ron Scott told Kleffman.
?The state now classifies them as a tobacco product. What makes them different? By our ordinance, there is no distinction,? Scott said to Kleffman. ?You can?t have it both ways. We had to clarify it for our businesses as to where they can be used. Vapor products contain nicotine, and from a public health point of view, there is an unknown amount of nicotine in the exhaled vapor that could affect others, like second-hand smoke. . . . Do you err on the side of caution, or do you just disregard the potential public health risks?"
The commission vote was 3-2, with Mayor Bernie Hunstad and Commissioner Kevin Caudill voting against the ban after two citizens argued that the prohibition was premature because no reliable research has proven that the devices create a public health concern.
- Study Finds That Teens Who Use E-cigarettes Are More Than Twice As Likely As Non-using Teens To Start Smoking Tobacco Products
image: usnews.comTeens who use electronic cigarettes may be more than twice as likely to start smoking tobacco than those who have never used the devices, according to a study at the University of Southern California. ?Recreational e-cigarette use is...
- Even Nicotine-free Electronic Cigarettes Can Damage Lungs; Parents Urged To Warn Teens About Dangers Of E-cig Smoking
Kentucky has one of the nation's highest smoking rates, but electronic cigarettes, or e-cigs, are becoming more popular. These battery-powered vaporizers produce a vapor that usually does not contain nicotine. Some have claimed that e-cigs...
- Smokers Using Electronic Cigarettes Are Less Likely To Quit Smoking Than Those Who Don't Use The Devices, California Study Finds
The sudden increase in use of electronic cigarettes has prompted questions about whether they actually help people quit smoking. A study published online in the American Journal of Public Health found that individuals who use e-cigarettes are actually...
- New Law Bans Sales Of Electronic Cigarettes To Minors
Sales of electronic cigarettes to people under 18 are now illegal in Kentucky, following Gov. Steve Beshear's signing into law Thursday of a bill that had support from cigarette manufacturers, many of whom are also getting into the e-cigarette business....
- E-cig, Hookah Ban Takes Effect Monday In Madison County
Electronic cigarettes and water pipes known as hookahs will be banned in enclosed public places in Madison County beginning Monday under an amendment to the county's existing smoking ban. The ban, which has been in effect since 2007, was amended...