August 13th, 2013
From: Medical Daily
By Susan Scutti
The Gothamist reported today that a leaked draft of three tobacco-related bills making their way through City Council reveals that New York City’s Health Department in concert with Mayor Bloomberg are attempting to banish e-cigarettes, also known as electronic cigarettes or e-cigs. By classifying e-cigarettes as a tobacco product, they will effectively be subject to some of the same laws as well as additional regulations.
August 1st, 2013
From: Associated Press
CHARLOTTE — At North Carolina smoke shops and other retailers, the warning signs are going up: A law banning the sale of e-cigarettes to minors takes effect today.
Retailers will face the same misdemeanor charge if they sell e-cigarettes to a minor as they now do for other tobacco products. Penalties can be as high as a $1,000 fine, community service or jail time.
So retailers say they’ll be on the lookout.
E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution, creating vapor that users inhale. Some e-cigarettes are made to look like a real cigarette with a tiny light on the tip that glows.
July 25th, 2013
From: Military Times
Patricia Kime
Jon Bunte started smoking when he turned 18, a habit picked up from a friend that appeared to ease his chronic headaches.
He continued to smoke when he joined the Air Force, but about midway through his first enlistment, searching for a less dirty way to satisfy his nicotine cravings, he tried an electronic cigarette, or e-cig. Even though experience was wholly unsatisfying, sending him scrambling for a pack of Marlboro Menthol Lights, he tried again this past March, for the same reason.
And according to Bunte, he hasn’t smoked a tobacco cigarette since.
July 16th, 2013
From: The Telegraph
Smokeless electronic cigarettes risk being taken off the market by a “short-sighted” vote in the European Parliament that will classify them as a medicinal product, critics said.
By Martin Banks in Brussels
The vote was intended to make tobacco smoking less attractive to young people through mandatory warnings, minimum pack sizes, and rules on flavourings.
However, the revision of the EU ‘Tobacco Products Directive’ would classify most e-cigarettes as a medicinal product, despite the fact that in the UK alone 25 percent of all attempts to kick the habit are made using e-cigarettes, making them the most popular aid.
July 10th, 2013
From: EuropeanVoice.com
MEPs vote to back Commission proposal for new tobacco restrictions, including electronic cigarettes.
The European Parliament’s environment and health committee voted today (10 July) to back the European Commission’s proposal for new tobacco restrictions, banning slim cigarettes and flavourings including menthol cigarettes and requiring graphic pictorial warnings covering 75% of cigarette packs.
Despite a demonstration in front of the Parliament today by advocates of smokless electronic cigarettes, the committee members voted to back to Commission’s proposal to classify these devices as medicinal products.
