Public Health Groups: Some State E-Cigarette Bills Could Do More Harm Than Good

Public health groups say they are concerned that some state measures that appear to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of young people may do more harm than good, according to USA Today.

The groups say some state proposals could addict more people to nicotine, while rolling back progress against clean air. While 41 states have banned the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, 17 of those state laws use language that could make it more difficult to regulate e-cigarettes like tobacco. These bills make it harder to impose high taxes on e-cigarettes and to include them in smoke-free laws, according to Erika Sward of the American Lung Association.

Sward says high taxes are much more effective in cutting youth smoking rates than simply prohibiting sales. The e-cigarette industry is lobbying for weaker regulations, while working to block stronger ones, she says. “They’re trying to protect themselves from these policies so their products remain cheap and accessible to kids.”

The Food and Drug Administration proposed regulations for e-cigarettes last year, but has not finalized the rule. The only state currently taxing e-cigarettes is Minnesota, the article notes. North Carolina is scheduled to start taxing them in July.

Monitoring The Future, an annual survey of between 40,000 to 50,000 students in 8th, 10th and 12th grades, found last year more teens used e-cigarettes than traditional tobacco cigarettes or any other tobacco product. Among 12th graders, 17 percent reported e-cigarette use in the past month, compared with 14 percent who used a tobacco cigarette.

Some public health groups say e-cigarettes can lead young people to start smoking regular cigarettes, and have expressed concern about the safety of the devices. Others say e-cigarettes have the potential to help smokers quit.