E-cigarette debate lights up.

Hanson, Karmen

The verdict is still out on the health effects of electronic cigarettes. Without consistant scientific data, public health organizations are divided on whether they are safer than traditional tobacco. E-cigarette smokers inhale a water-based vapor that may contain nicotine and other chemicals. Some health professionals believe the vapor poses fewer health risks than traditional tobacco, which may reduce traditional tobacco use and the diseases it can cause, including cancer and heart disease.

Other health professionals aren't so sure. They would like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate e-cigarettes--also known as vaporizers or digital cigarettes--as tobacco products under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. FDA officials stated in 2011 that the agency planned to regulate e-cigarettes, but no rules had been issued as of early 2014. Several state legislatures have joined the debate. At least 27 states have banned the use by and sale of electronic cigarettes or alternative tobacco products to minors. Three states have added e-cigarettes to their bans on smoking in all public places, and nine states have prohibited their use in public buildings such as schools, universities or corrections facilities, or on public transportation. About a dozen bills have been introduced this year, with more expected.

E-cigarettes come in many forms, but they often resemble plastic or glass cigarettes or rods. Unlike traditionally burned cigarettes, they don't produce a combustible smoke or contain tar, a byproduct of burning tobacco. Instead, they contain a small battery that converts a liquid from small cartridges into a water-based mist or vapor. The liquid cartridges may contain varying amounts of tobacco-based nicotine, synthetic nicotine, or no nicotine at all, as well as flavorings and propellants. Studies on the personal and public health effects of the vapor have been inconclusive.

E-cigarette and liquid cartridge manufacturers, which include some traditional tobacco companies, state they are looking for new, potentially safer ways to allow adults to use nicotine and tobacco products in public places where smoking is now prohibited.

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