To date,
secondhand cigarette smoke has been banned in most public places. Those who
don’t smoke are glad to be rid of the noxious fumes. Those who do smoke are
learning to cope.
The new frontier
in the war on tobacco is the electronic cigarette, those devices that allow
smokers to consume nicotine in vapor form without the release of harmful
secondhand smoke.
So-called vapor
rooms in Agoura Hills and Thousand Oaks are drawing curious new customers. The
trend has become popular.
A recent bill
proposed by the California Senate, however, defines the e-cigarette as a
tobacco product and seeks to ban vaping, the smoking of vapor, in places where
regular smoking is prohibited.
Electronic
cigarette users were breathing a sigh of relief when a California Assembly
committee postponed its Aug. 14 hearing on the bill and tabled it until next
year. For the time being, the new cigarettes will remain legal.
Because the
devices are not regulated or considered a tobacco product by law, users can
puff on their e-cigarettes practically anywhere.
What a great
compromise these devices represent in the war between smokers and non-smokers.
Users can still get their nicotine fix, while non-users can be free of the
wafting carcinogenic smoke they so dislike.
But the full
effect of the vapor mist still isn’t known. The chemical-laced e-juice may not
be as harmless as it’s made out to be, which is one reason the Senate floated
the bill that puts vapor into the same category as tobacco. There’s also no
legislation yet to keep the devices out of the hands of juveniles, and we think
there should be.
Still,
e-cigarettes represent a significant step forward in the move toward a more
smoke-free society. For the time being, they’re helping to clear the air in the
debate over secondhand smoke. Let’s give them a chance.
Article Credit: http://www.theacorn.com
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