Continuing the debate over the controversial product known as electronic cigarettes, vaporizers, members of the European Parliament unilaterally rejected plans to regulate e-cigarettes as medicinal products. The effect of which would have changed the way the e-cigarettes were treated for taxing and regulation purposes.
Currently, the use of e-cigarettes (“vaping”) indoors is not illegal. However, French lawmakers are considering making the practice illegal in response to the growing concern over the safety and efficacy of the devices. The French Minister of Health, Marisol Touraine, has also called for the cigarettes to be outlawed from being marketed to individuals 16 and under and banned from use in public places.
“We want the same laws that apply to normal cigarettes to apply to electronic cigarettes,” Ms. Touraine said in a statement to France 24.
The failure of the European Parliament to increase regulations on e-cigarettes, accord to The Independent, is a direct result of lobbying efforts on the part of big tobacco firms.
In the United States, e-cigarettes are currently being scrutinized for their wide availability and amorphous regulatory positioning. In December of 2010, the FDA was denied the ability to assert its regulatory authority over e-cigarettes by a court decision. As of this time, the FDA is moving to regulate the e-cigarettes as a tobacco product. The FDA has created an advisory page on electronic cigarettes which you can access here.
In Florida, several studies have been performed regarding the concerns that people express over e-cigarettes increasing the likelihood of children smoking traditional cigarettes. These studies found that there was a marked rate of increase year-over-year from 2012 to 2013 among high school students (101.7 percent).
Joshua is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. Follow him on Twitter @Joshual33.