On the heels of a study that found electronic cigarettes may expose users to high levels of formaldehyde, the California senate has introduced a bill that would define the controversial devices as tobacco products and treat them as such.
Filed Monday by state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), the bill would subject e-cigarettes — battery-powered tubes that vaporize liquid nicotine instead of burning tobacco — to the state’s existing anti-smoking laws, effectively banning “vaping” in workplaces, schools, restaurants, bars, hospitals, public transit and everywhere else traditional cigarettes are forbidden.
–
California’s proposed ban may be the most far-reaching, but it’s not the first. Leno’s office notes that North Dakota, New Jersey and Utah have restricted e-cigarette use in established smoke-free venues, and 122 cities and counties in California have already prohibited the use of e-cigarettes in some indoor and outdoor spaces.
