UE: el lobby del tabaco viola las reglas de la ONU

periodistas-es.com – 5 de octubre de 2015 – UE

El Defensor del Pueblo de la UE ha publicado una resolución favorable a una queja presentada por Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) en contra de la Comisión sobre su falta de aplicación de normas de cabildeo de tabaco de la ONU.

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Publicación original: 

http://periodistas-es.com/ue-el-lobby-del-tabaco-viola-las-reglas-de-la-onu-59092

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce should quit lobbying for tobacco abroad

washingtonpost.com – 4 de Julio de 2015 – EEUU

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Publicación original:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-us-chamber-of-commerce-should-quit-lobbying-for-tobacco-abroad/2015/07/03/3399ea8a-1f58-11e5-bf41-c23f5d3face1_story.html

Tobacco Giants Battle New Ads Painting Them As Liars

huffingtonpost.com – 22de Febrero de 2015 – EEUU

WASHINGTON (AP) — Never underestimate the staying power of big tobacco.

In 2006, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ordered the nation's largest cigarette makers to publicly admit that they had lied for decades about the dangers of smoking.

The basis for the punishment: Testimony from 162 witnesses, a nine-month bench trial and thousands of findings by the judge that defendants engaged in what the largest public health organizations in the country have called a massive campaign of fraud.

Publicación original:

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/22/tobacco-corrective-ads_n_6730504.html

Tobacco bill would rise the legal age of purchase to 21 years old

valleyjournal.net – 11 de Febrero de 2015 – EEUU

POLSON — As the harmful effects of smoking continue to receive national attention, tobacco companies have shifted their focus to smokeless tobacco products, claiming them to be a “safe” alternative to smoking cigarettes and actively working to build new customers. “Through With Chew Week,” Feb. 15-21, highlights the truth that there are no “safe” tobacco products.

In Montana, tobacco companies have long used our culture of independence and our rural Western image against us with targeted smokeless product marketing. Increasingly, however, these companies are shifting product flavorings, package designs and marketing campaigns to appeal to a younger, trendier audience – an audience that increasingly includes teens. But no amount of fruit flavor or fancy marketing can alter the harmful effects of smokeless products, including tooth decay, gum disease, cancer, heart attack or stroke.

Publicación original:
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http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/11873/No-safe-tobacco-products

Letter: Lobbyist lied about tobacco use

inforum.com – 9 de Febrero de 2015 – EEUU

In testimony to a committee of the North Dakota State Legislature as reported in The Forum Tuesday, Feb. 3, Mike Rud, president of the North Dakota Retail Association, lied about the content of a 2012 CDC study on tobacco use.

Use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in North Dakota among both adults and young people are not low as Rud would like us to believe. They are among the highest in the nation and the study he cited confirms that fact.

Adult smokeless tobacco use is 49th highest out of 51 states and the District of Columbia.

Adult cigarette use is 30th highest.

Youth smokeless tobacco use is 36th highest out of 40 states reporting.

Youth cigarette use is 34th out of 44 states reporting.

Publicación original:

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http://www.inforum.com/letters/3674610-letter-lobbyist-lied-about-tobacco-use

sfweekly.com – 28 de Octubre de 2014 – EEUU

Big Tobacco Makes a Comeback in California: Even Democrats Are Taking Money From Tobacco Companies

The tobacco industry is tightening its grip on California politics in attempt to block anti-tobacco legislation — and its working, according to a new study from UCSF.

Big tobacco has donated some $64 million to various political campaigns over the last six years, including to Gov. Jerry Brown's gubernatorial campaigns. As a result, the anti-tobacco industry is losing steam in California, the study says.

Researchers point to the facts: California has the 33rd lowest cigarette tax in the nation, and none of the seven bills introduced to increase the cigarette excise tax from 2007 to 2014 even got past the legislature. The shifting priorities of political leaders becomes more apparent as California has yet to regulate e-cigarettes, a new product from which the tobacco industry stands to gain billions.

Publicación original:
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http://www.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2014/10/28/big-tobacco-makes-a-comeback-in-california-even-democrats-are-taking-money-from-tobacco-companies

vocativ.com – 28 de Octubre de 2014 – EEUU

Tobacco nation: where americans smoke, dip and die tryin’

Smoking in the U.S. has been on the decline since 2005, but there are still more than 46 million adults who smoke cigarettes, and tens of millions more who buy cigars, pipes and smokeless tobacco, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The government agency tracks a host of state-by-state data to capture a detailed picture of tobacco use throughout the country. The database covers everything from cigarette prices to excise taxes to lung-cancer rates for each of the 50 states. It pulls the most recent data from each state as it becomes available.

We combed through the latest CDC data for interesting and surprising patterns of tobacco use in the U.S. While some of what we found was not all that shocking (of course New York has the highest taxes!), other findings were more enlightening. Would you have guessed that Maine loves cigars more than anywhere else in the U.S.? Check out our maps for other tobacco trends.

Publicación original:

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http://www.vocativ.com/interactive/culture/health-culture/cigarette-use-us/

yahoo.com – 30 de septiembre de 2014 – EEUU

Tobacco should be harder to buy, Quit Victoria study finds

Did big tobacco grow a big heart, or is its latest warnings to consumers about e-cigarettes merely a cynical way to inoculate tobacco companies from further lawsuits?

Some of the largest ones are now slapping extra-strong warning labels on their electronic cigarette products. That sounds surprising at first, given that cigarette companies have been linked to products that the CDC claims are responsible for nearly half a million American deaths each year. But e-cigarettes are growing fast. In fact, according to Wells Fargo, the e-cigarette market now makes up about $1 billion in annual revenue and could overtake traditional cigarettes in the coming decades.

Publicación original:

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http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/talking-numbers/why-big-tobacco-is-playing-it-safe-190739052.html

variety.com – 10 de septiembre de 2014 – EEUU

Toronto: ‘Merchants of Doubt’ Director Exposes Energy and Tobacco Lobby

Robert Kenner’s “Merchants of Doubt” pulls back the curtain on the illusionists deployed by oil, gas and tobacco companies to use pseudo-science and spin to create an alternate reality in which cigarettes and gas guzzlers are our friends.

“The American public believes in science unless it’s inconvenient,” Kenner said during a dinner for the film shortly before his new documentary premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on Tuesday.

The film is a mordantly funny indictment of this army of well-heeled prevaricators. Inspired by the book of the same name by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, Kenner benefits by being able to show these spin-masters in their element, as they thrust, parry, and smile, always smile, on cable news programs.

Publicación original:

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http://variety.com/2014/film/news/toronto-merchants-of-doubt-director-exposes-energy-and-tobacco-lobby-1201302509/

desertsun.com – 1 de Agosto – EEUU

Letter: Stop lawmakers from accepting tobacco money

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) has recently launched a campaign to “Snuff Tobacco Money out of California Politics.” ACS CAN is challenging current officeholders and candidates for all state offices to reject contributions from tobacco companies and their subsidiaries and return to an agenda that promotes public health.

Over the past five years, tobacco companies have spent $63 million on campaign contributions and lobbying in California. During that time, the tobacco companies have successfully stymied every significant legislative effort that would have helped people quit tobacco use, prevented youth from starting, or protected people from second-hand smoke.

The industry of addiction and deception has a stranglehold on the Legislature and it is time to change that. Letters have been sent to every officeholder and candidate for the state legislature and statewide office asking “Will you reject campaign contributions from tobacco companies and stand with ACS CAN and help us snuff tobacco money out of California politics?”

Campaign contributions will be monitored and made public.

Publicación original: 

http://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/readers/2014/08/03/lawmakers-accept-tobacco-money/13536891/

philly.com – 10 de Julio 2014 – EEUU

Big Tobacco lobbies hard on Philly cigarette tax

HARRISBURG - Philadelphia was one Senate vote away from winning its $2-per-pack cigarette tax in the General Assembly on Tuesday.

But after a late-hour lobbying effort by tobacco manufacturers, the senators jammed in a provision setting a five-year expiration for the tax.

So, despite the prospect of delayed public school openings and hundreds of layoffs, the bill was sent back to the House, which had departed for its summer break and may not return until Aug. 4.

That news sent Mayor Nutter, on hand for the deliberations, into a tailspin. He accused Big Tobacco of "trying to take money away from Philadelphia schoolchildren."

On Wednesday, Sen. Jake Corman (R., Centre), chairman of the appropriations committee, dismissed the notion that tobacco lobbyists played a significant role in adding the temporary language.

"This allows us the opportunity to review an unprecedented tax," said Corman.

He added the tax could lead to a reduction in the $2 billion the state takes in from tobacco revenue each year. "As protector of the general fund, I have great concerns about what this could mean for the state," he said.

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Publicación original: 

http://articles.philly.com/2014-07-10/news/51307904_1_cigarette-tax-senate-republicans-big-tobacco

napavalleyregister.com – 10 de Julio 2014 – EEUU

Time to end tobacco subsidies

Farm subsidies cost the U.S. government more than $30 billion annually.

The government pays more than 60 percent of the premium for crop insurance for the farmer to the insurance company. This is welfare to the farmers and the insurance companies.

It is time to take a serious look at reducing or eliminating farm subsidies.

As a nation with a national debt of more than $17 trillion and growing, we cannot afford these give-aways. Other countries such as New Zealand have eliminated farm subsidies, and farmers are more productive and efficient and have larger incomes.

Welfare to farmers and insurance companies needs to be brought under control.

It is well past time to eliminate all tobacco subsidies. As a nation, we cannot continue down this path. Tobacco interests have been receiving federal subsidies since 1938.

Publicación original:

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http://napavalleyregister.com/news/opinion/mailbag/time-to-end-tobacco-subsidies/article_450ca644-e156-5a12-9475-7b7f57afbb1e.html 

reviewjournal.com - 17 de Junio 2014 – EEUU

Tobacco companies trying to keep up with e-cigarette market

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Tobacco companies are moving quickly to keep pace with the evolution of their industry by embracing the increasingly popular e-cigarettes and making them more available to consumers.

Reynolds American Inc., the second-largest tobacco company in the U.S., moved forward on its ambitious goal for sales, announcing Tuesday that next week it would begin distributing its Vuse brand electronic cigarette nationwide.

Altria Group Inc., which owns the nation’s biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, is seeking to expand its MarkTen electronic cigarette brand nationally during the first half of the year.

Lorillard, the nation’s third-largest tobacco company, acquired e-cigarette maker Blu eCigs in April 2012. Blu now accounts for almost half of all e-cigarettes sold and can already be found nationwide.

Reynolds said Tuesday that retail outlets in all 50 states will be carrying Vuse starting on June 23. More stores will be added throughout the remainder of the year.

Reynolds launched Vuse in Colorado last summer and expanded into Utah earlier this year. The Winston-Salem, North Carolina company said that Vuse quickly became the top-selling brand in both states with high levels of repeat purchase.

Like other tobacco companies, Reynolds American is looking to capitalize on the fast-growing e-cigarette sales and to diversify its business more. To that end, the company announced last month that it was expanding its Tobaccoville, North Carolina manufacturing complex ahead of Vuse’s national rollout in order to meet anticipated market demand.

The market for e-cigarettes has grown from thousands of users in 2006 to several million worldwide and reached nearly $2 billion in sales last year. The battery-powered devices heat a liquid nicotine solution, creating vapor that users inhale. E-cigarette users say the devices address both the addictive and behavioral aspects of smoking without the thousands of chemicals found in regular cigarettes.

The Vuse can monitor and adjust heat and power to deliver the “perfect puff,” according to Reynolds American. It also has a smart light on the tip of to let users know when it’s getting low, needs to be replaced or recharged.

The country’s biggest tobacco companies have all entered the e-cigarette realm as they look to become less dependent on the traditional cigarette business, which is increasingly tougher to be a part of due to tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma.

But the growing popularity of e-cigarettes has left it open to closer examination by the government and health advocates. The Food and Drug Administration has proposed restrictions on the buying, packaging and advertising of e-cigarettes. This includes a ban on selling to minors and warning labels. The Senate will hold a hearing Wednesday to examine the marketing of e-cigarettes and potential consequences for minors.

Shares of Reynolds American shed 46 cents to $59.88 in midday trading, while Altria’s stock fell 12 cents to $41.69. Shares of Lorillard declined 59 cents to $61.39.

Publicación original: 

http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/tobacco-companies-trying-keep-e-cigarette-market

tampabay.com – 8 de Junio de 2014 – EEUU

U.S. Supreme Court sides against Big Tobacco in Florida litigation

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a tobacco industry appeal Monday in Florida litigation that stretches back almost two decades.

With billions of dollars potentially at stake, hundreds of Florida smokers and their families can still press forward with lawsuits over cancer, emphysema and other maladies.

According to one Wall Street analyst, Florida litigation is one of Big Tobacco's two largest areas of legal exposure.

At issue is whether Floridians can pursue individual lawsuits based on jury findings from a class-action suit that was thrown out years ago. The class-action jury had found that the tobacco industry conspired to withhold evidence that their product was dangerous.

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled several times that people who were part of the class-action case could still use that conspiracy finding when pursuing suits as individuals. The industry appealed the latest cases, totaling about $70 million, citing violation of due process. By rejecting that appeal Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court let the Florida law stand.

So far, 110 cases have already been tried, with about $500 million in outstanding verdicts, according to a Morgan Stanley analysis in May.

Publicación original:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/us-supreme-court-sides-against-big-tobacco-in-florida-litigation/2183646

time.com – 2 de Junio de 2014 – EEUU

E-Cig Ads Luring Teens and Young Adults Jumps 321%

E-cigarette marketing has increased dramatically on programming catering to young people

In the last several years, advertising for e-cigarettes has spiked. And since the product is not yet regulated in the same way as conventional cigarettes, that means some particularly impressionable populations are being targeted: young people.

Marketing has increased during programming that caters to adolescents and young adults, according to a new report published in the journal Pediatrics shows—something that has had activists and lawmaker up in arms for some time.

Advertising exposure for e-cigarettes increased 256% for young people ages 12 to 17 from 2011 to 2013. During the same period, exposure for young adults ages 18 to 24 spiked 321%. Over 75% of this advertising was shown on TV networks that cater to these age groups including AMC, Country Music Television, Comedy Central, WGN America, TV Land, and VH1. Over 80% of these ads were for the e-cigarette brand, blu eCigs.

Specifically, the researchers report advertising was present on the top rated shows, “The Bachelor,” “Big Brother,” and “Survivor.” More than 80% of the advertisements were for a single brand, blu eCigs.

Also troubling is the fact that the study authors noted a lack of public health messaging against e-cigarettes. This off-balance poses health risks, they propose.

There is still much we don’t know about the safety of e-cigs, or about how well they work to help people quit (see our recent 5 sketchy things we still don’t know about e-cigs), but recent reports have shown they produce carcinogens, and another recent report found they had only a modest impact on helping highly motivated people to quit.

The FDA recently announced the agency is expanding its jurisdiction to cover e-cigarettes (which thrilled the makers of such devices, as we reported). It proposed a first-time ban on their sale to minors and a requirement for health warnings on products nationwide. However, at the current time, advertising for e-cigs are not regulated like conventional cigarettes.

Publicación original:

http://time.com/2808969/e-cig-ads-luring-teens-and-young-adults-jumps-321/

wiscnews.com – 28 de mayo de 2014 – EEUU - Wisconsin

Tobacco compliance checks continue

Tobacco compliance checks are designed to tackle illegal sales of tobacco to minors and decrease youth tobacco use.

Checks will continue in 2014. They offer the opportunity for the community to join in the fight to protect youth from one of the most readily available and harmful substances available, officials say. Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death.

The checks are part of the WI Wins program, administered by the South Central Wisconsin Tobacco Free Coalition. Retailers must do a good job in checking identification of buyers and ensuring that clerks do not sell to minors.

The community needs to be aware of the risk of new, addictive tobacco products, such as Snus, little cigars and tobacco wraps, officials say. Many of these new products are discreet, flavorful and less expensive than traditional products. These products are being pushed by the tobacco industry and targeted to teens, and it is very important they stay out of the hands of minors, the coalition says.

“Our partnership with both law enforcement and tobacco retailers... has been very positive. We hope for zero sales to minors in 2014,” said Jennifer Froh of WI Wins and the South Central Wisconsin Tobacco Free Coalition. “Every day, approximately 3,500 kids will try tobacco for the first time. Another 1,000 kids will become addicted. Treating tobacco-related diseases results in $96 billion in healthcare costs annually in the United States."

Tobacco retail clerks can be easily trained to check IDs by visiting www.smokecheck.org for more information. Retailers and clerks may use the site to learn about tobacco-compliance laws, complete state-required training, and receive customized certificates they can print out and pass on to employers.

This website teaches skills to ensure tobacco products are kept out of the hands of minors. When youth do not have easy access to tobacco they are less likely to choose to use these products, coalition members say.

Call 608-847-9373 with questions about WI Wins or the South Central Wisconsin Tobacco Free Coalition, which serves Adams, Juneau, Richland and Sauk counties.

Publicación original:

http://www.wiscnews.com/juneaucountystartimes/lifestyles/community/article_7ad505c3-4582-5454-b1dd-52b3ccc8a3ef.html

huffingtonpost.com - 25 de mayo de 2014 – EEUU

Politicians (and Lobbyists) Allowing Children to Work in America's Tobacco Fields

Well, it's finally happened. A situation is starting to bubble into the public consciousness that has brought me to the very limits of my ability to absorb one more jaw-dropping example of how government has truly abandoned any pretense of protecting or nurturing our children.

The New York Times, in a Sunday editorial, has, in its own venerable way, decried the practice of using kids as young as age seven to work the tobacco fields in Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. If someone had told me this was a story in The Onion, I wouldn't have been surprised. Really, too absurdly off the wall to have been true. Sadly, this was the Times -- and the editorial writers were deadly serious.

Much of this horror story -- including reports of nicotine poisoning and pesticide exposure among these child tobacco workers -- has been brought to light in a report from Human Rights Watch.

At this point, other news outlets, including most of the broadcast networks and NPR, have also covered the story. According to an ABC story, Philip Morris International, Inc. CEO, André Calantzopoulos, did express concern recommending, apparently, that "More work needs to be done to eliminate child and other labor abuses in tobacco growing." Yeah, good point.

But not all agreed with André. In fact, spokesman for Altria Group -- owner of Philip Morris USA -- Jeff Caldwell, is reported to have said, in effect, that preventing young kids from working tobacco fields "is really contrary to a lot of the current practices that are in place in the U.S. and is at odds in these communities where family farming is really a way of life."

huffingtonpost.com – 28 de abril de 2014 – EEUU

E-Cigarette Rules Are Essentially A Huge Win For Big Tobacco

The FDA announced Thursday that it would regulate e-cigarettes for the first time.

No one seems particularly impressed by the new effort.

Public health advocates and analysts agree that the proposed rules will do little to constrain the billion-dollar market for these products, which allow users to inhale nicotine through a vapor. And e-cigarette trade groups are overall on board with the rules.

The health risks of e-cigarettes are not well understood, and many people believe the products work as a gateway to more traditional cigarette smoking, particularly among children. The proposed rules would ban sales of e-cigs to minors and require manufacturers to provide a list of ingredients to the agency. But health advocates say there's still plenty of room to tacitly market the products to kids -- a standard Big Tobacco strategy -- and also as a complement or introduction to smoking.

E-cigarette makers would still be allowed to sell their products in kid-friendly flavors like bubble gum, and the proposed rules still permit TV ads and Internet sales, provisions that health experts say make it easier to get the e-cigs into the hands of kids and teenagers.

The Smoke Free Alternatives Trade Association, an e-cigarette advocacy organization, wrote in a statement that they "welcome a ban on access to anyone under 18." But they said they oppose any restrictions on flavor, claiming they're "important to the consumer experience."

The FDA took more than four years to propose these regulations, which are 241 pages long. They're open to public comment for 75 days, and then it will take time to implement the final rules.

“I don’t know what took the FDA so long to come up with this,” said Neil Schluger, the chief of pulmonary, allergy and critical care medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. “One can sort of imagine the battle going on here. On the one hand there are public health groups representing the interests of millions of people, versus tobacco groups with billions of dollars.”

Publicación original:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/25/ecigarette-regulations_n_5206725.html

gainesville.com – 21 de abril de 2014 – EEUU

Barry Hummel: Bill would give kids easier access to tobacco

Big Tobacco is back in Tallahassee, pulling strings behind the scenes to make sure that kids in Florida will have easier access to tobacco.

You may be scratching your head and asking yourself how this can be possible, given that Florida has become a leader in tobacco prevention through its highly successful Tobacco Free Florida campaign.

It starts with the following fact: 85 percent of new tobacco users start between the ages of 12 and 17, before it is even legal to possess and use tobacco. Kids make the choice to use tobacco, not adults. Preventing kids from becoming addicted at a very young age is significantly the reducing market share of the tobacco industry.

Over the last 15 years, youth tobacco use in Florida has dropped to historic lows. This has been driven by a tobacco prevention program that is actually funded by penalties paid to Florida by the tobacco industry as part of an $11.7 billion dollar lawsuit settlement in 1997.

This has made the tobacco industry in Florida openly aggressive as it looks for ways to make the program less effective.

Which brings us to the 2014 Florida legislative session.

Bills introduced in both the House and Senate, designed to restrict the sale of electronic cigarettes and highly addictive liquid nicotine to minors, have quickly been railroaded by tobacco industry lobbyists to increase youth access to tobacco.

Publicación original:

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20140421/OPINION04/140429939/-1/opinion?Title=Barry-Hummel-Bill-would-give-kids-easier-access-to-tobacco

guardianlv.com – 22 de abril de 2014 – EEUU

Electronic Cigarette Increasingly Being Banned

Electronic cigarettes are following in the footsteps of their smoky predecessors, as they are becoming increasingly banned around the country. The issues creating the controversy about the e-cigs include the sketchy marketing targeted at the youth, the potential unknown risks and safety hazards, the lack of legislation blocking the selling of the product to minors, and other regulation issues.

Many states, cities, counties, school districts, and other entities have taken action against the electronic cigarette, but the information pertaining to each state, or entity, can get quite confusing. Some states have laws that restrict the use of e-cigs in 100 percent smoke-free venues. In Utah, New Jersey, and North Dakota the use of e-cigs is banned in these venues including: non-hospitality workplaces, restaurants, and bars. In North Dakota, they are also banned from gambling facilities. In Utah they are permitted in retailers’ places of business who sell the electronic cigarettes until July 1, 2017.

For other states the laws are even more specific. In Arkansas the product is banned from use on school district properties. In Colorado, tobacco products have been redefined to include e-cigarettes for the purpose of prohibiting them on school properties, unless it was approved by the FDA as a cessation device.

In the state of Delaware, e-cigarettes are prohibited from all state workplaces. This includes indoor and outdoor places, buildings, facilities and surrounding grounds, parking lots, and vehicles owned by the state, and operated on state workplace property. Hawaii has banned the product on all Department of Health properties and Maryland has banned them on their MARC commuter trains. New Hampshire prohibited the cigarettes in public educational facilities and their grounds. In Oklahoma, the product is not allowed in any Department of Corrections facilities, which includes grounds and vehicles. Oregon state employees are restricted from using them in state agency buildings and on the grounds next to the buildings. South Dakota prohibited their use in Department of Corrections facilities and the grounds, by employees and inmates.

In many states where there is no state law against e-cigarettes, local laws are increasingly banning them in 100 percent smoke-free venues, such as work places, restaurants, bars, and gambling facilities. Certain counties in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Mississippi, South Carolina, New York, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia have bans in place.

In Coconino County, Arizona the electronic cigarette is banned in public places, but the ordinance only applies to unincorporated areas. Several cities in Texas have recently banned the product in certain places. This month, an ordinance was passed in Bedford that banned them in areas where smoking is already prohibited. Georgetown, Texas also banned the use of any electronic vaping device in public places, and areas that originally prohibited cigarettes. The new ordinance also bans the sale of the products to minors.

Other cities restricting the use of electronic cigarettes in public places include big cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City. The ban in New York City got a reaction from Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment (CLASH). The group recently filed a lawsuit aimed at overturning the city’s ban on e-cig use in public. The restriction in Philadelphia treats e-cigs just like regular cigarettes, including prohibiting the sale of them to minors. Los Angeles also joined the list of big cities with an e-cig ban. In L.A. the products are banned in public places, except vaping lounges and 21-and-over nightclubs and bars.

The ban is definitely catching on across the country, as the electronic cigarette is increasingly banned in a variety of places. Petco Park in San Diego does not allow the smoking of e-cigarettes inside the ballpark. A committee at Louisiana State University has voted to recommend e-cigs be banned from the campus. The banning trend will seemingly continue, as the electronic cigarette is treated more and more like traditional cigarettes, and legislation is worked out to regulate the product.

By Twanna Harps

Publicación original:

http://guardianlv.com/2014/04/electronic-cigarette-increasingly-being-banned/