U.S. cities Chicago and New York have brought in legislation to regulate e-cigarettes in the same way as tobacco products, causing upset among sellers and users of the massively popular stop-smoking aides.
The ban has been introduced in an attempt to kerb the acceptance of tobacco as a societal norm, with arguments suggesting that younger people, especially teenagers, may be encouraged to start smoking tobacco after being exposed to easily accessible e-cigarettes, which are now becoming widely available both on the high street and online. The celebrity endorsement and fruity flavours are said to make e-cigarettes more enticing to the younger generation.
Dr Thomas Farley, the health commissioner for New York City under former mayor Michael Bloomberg says that allowing people to smoke e-cigarettes in bars and restaurants undermines existing bans on tobacco. However, manufacturers of e-cigarettes say that the marketing of the products have confused legislators in to thinking they are the same as tobacco cigarettes, making it more difficult for people who want an alternative to regular cigarettes and forcing them to be in the same areas as smokers, which can prove tempting for anybody trying to quit.
There’s no doubt that e-cigarettes have helped many people to kick the habit entirely, but there is still concern due to the fact that they contain nicotine – something that may cause smokers to stay hooked and may have raised concerns about e-cigarettes accessibility to young people.
However, many vendors argue that e-cigarettes are proving more successful than conventional nicotine replacement products in getting people to stop smoking – meaning that these bans could potentially set back these cities in their aim of being completely smoke-free.
