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WARNING:This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.
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E-cigarettes and similar "vaping" products should be added to the state's Smoke Free Illinois Act, and communities should consider adding them to local anti-smoking codes.
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are battery-powered devices fitted with a cartridge that allows the smoker to inhale flavored vapors that include a mix of water, chemicals and nicotine at different levels. The e-cigs and cartridges are not subject to cigarette taxes and cost far less than a traditional pack of cigarettes.
The products are relatively new to the market, so they haven't been fully tested. But most people agree the cartridges may include some level of nicotine and the exhaled vapors may include a mix of chemicals including formaldehyde.
"Studies have shown that e-cigarettes can cause short-term lung changes that are much like those caused by regular cigarettes," says the American Cancer Society on its website. "But long-term health effects are still unclear."
The issue hasn't been raised in Decatur, but Bloomington Alderman Diana Hauman proposed banning the products from city-owned facilities such as U.S. Cellular Coliseum. City staff are looking into the issue.
"Vaping is not meant to be done when there is a mass group of people who have no desire for that to go on," said Jerry Jonen, who owns The Choice Vape Shop, 1212 Towanda Ave., told The Pantagraph last week. "That's no different than smoking was in that sense."
In Bloomington, most of the City Council agreed that the private sector should decide their own policies on e-cigarettes.
About 15 municipalities, including Chicago and metro areas, have used their home-rule powers to ban e-cigarettes in public places.
At the state level, current proposals would restrict the use, especially by young people, of the products. That would include creating an age requirement and banning the products' use on school and college campuses.
Supporters of the products see them as an alternative to cigarettes, cigars and pipes, whose use is banned at many public places. The e-cigarettes also are touted as a way to ramp down use of nicotine by people who are trying to cut back or quit using cigarettes.
It's too early to say whether vaping products should be taxed like tobacco products, whether they should be restricted as tightly as tobacco products, or whether they cause the same level of physical damage as tobacco products.
One thing, however, is certain: the discussion is worth having. That decision is one that can help us all breathe a little easier.
(This Post Was Reprinted from herald-review.com. Read The Original Post Here >> http://herald-review.com/news/opinion/editorial/vaping-in-public-needs-more-discussion/article_f7c2dd67-05bf-53b1-836d-ede13180893f.html)
