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Bill seeks to ban sale of e-cigs to minors in Denver, state

Published: 2011-02-25    Views:116 reads

Stop into a convenience store in Denver and chances are you might encounter an electronic cigarette, or “e-cigarette”, a device seen as a safer alternative to regular tobacco.

These devices, which deliver a small, controlled dose of nicotine, are intended for adults who want to cut down or quit smoking. And members of the Colorado House and Senate want to keep it that way.

On Thursday, the Colorado Senate Health and Human Services Committee will discuss a bill that would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.

Sponsored by Rep. Ken Summers (R-D22) and Sen. Betty Boyd (D-D21), HB11-1016 would expand the definition of tobacco products prohibited for sale to minors to include “any device that is designed to deliver inhaled, ingested or physically applied doses of nicotine.” The bill further defines a tobacco product as “any cartridge that is designed to deliver inhaled doses of any substance containing any amount of nicotine.”
E-cigarettes, as the name implies, are electronic devices that resemble cigarettes and run on batteries and featured an LED glowing tip. While it may appear that users are exhaling smoke, what is actually coming out of their mouths and from the e-cigarette itself is water vapor. The use of e-cigarettes is often referred to by the slang term "vaping".

However, the products, intended as a smoking session device, do contain a nicotine canister and delivers a small amount of nicotine allegedly intended to help the user decrease and eventually stop their nicotine intake. They reportedly also contain other harmful tobacco byproducts, according to some medical experts. In addition, the experts say that some e-cigarette canisters come in flavors that they believe may be addictive to children.

Because the devices have not been thoroughly investigated and regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, e-cigarettes are not currently considered tobacco products and as such, they have not be restricted with regards to sale to minors.

The Colorado bill would also stress that all tobacco products be banned from use in and around school property citing “secondhand smoke generated by such activity and the negative example set and frequently imitated by our school children are detrimental to the health and well-being of such children as well as to school teachers, staff, and visitors.”

Defining e-cigarettes as a tobacco product may also affect their ability to be used indoors.  Currently, because of they don’t carry the tobacco product designation, e-cigarettes can conceivably be (and sometimes are) used inside bars, restaurants, airplanes and other enclosed venues where regular cigarettes cannot.

Across the country, e-cigarettes are sold in convenience stores and shopping malls and the Denver area is no exception. E-cigarette kits have been seen for sale in several 7-11 convenience stores in the Denver. The devices are also for sale in local smoke shops and from Denver-based mail order houses.

Colorado isn’t the first state to move to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. Earlier this year, New York lawmakers moved forward on a bill that would e-cigarettes altogether.

In an Associated Press article, N.Y. Assembly Health Committee Chairman Richard Gottfried said, “E-cigarettes are for some people a tool for enabling them to continue their nicotine addictions when they are someplace where they can't smoke. I don't think that's good for public health.”

Gottfried said that manufacturers of e-cigarettes should first prove to the FDA that the devices are a smoking cessation aid to be able to sell them to adults.

Last year, the FDA sent out warning letters to five e-cigarette manufacturers but primarily for “unsubstantiated claims and poor manufacturing practices.” The agency says it intends to regulate the production of e-cigarettes and related products “in a manner consistent with its mission of protecting the public health.”

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