Utah Possibly First State to Regulate E-cigarettes

Utah may be the first state to enact statewide regulation of e-cigarette sale if a bill introduced to the House on Thursday meets approval.

The bill, introduced by Representative of Utah Paul Ray, would place restrictions on e-cigarettes sale similar to those already placed on traditional tobacco products. For the most part, the bill has one goal in mind, preventing the sale of the nicotine-based devices to youths under the age of 19.

The representative is supposedly proposing the bill because he fears that the currently unregulated e-cigarette use will become all too popular in minors. According to pediatrician Kevin Nelson, who spoke in support of the bill to The Salt Lake Tribune, e-cigarettes are a hugely popular choice among children who have already developed a nicotine habit before turning 19. This is most likely because unlike traditional tobacco products, e-cigarettes don't use smoke. Instead the battery-run devices act as tiny vaporizers of inhalable liquid nicotine, which can come in a variety of flavors attractive to young teens.

Still, Utah looks to be one of the least likely states to develop an e-cigarette use "epidemic" in minors. As of 2010, under 9 percent of Utah high school students were recorded as even occasional smokers. That's less than half the national rate, which is approximately 19 percent, according to the Utah Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Control Program.

E-cigarettes are a source of debate among health officials throughout the nation. It has been clinically shown in shot-length trials that the nicotine-lace vapor that e-cigarettes produce is harmless to users and those around them. What's more, some e-cigarette companies advertise their product as a safe smoking cessation solution, offering nicotine, but without the risks of tar buildup and disease traditional smoking poses.

But that's another part of the bill Rep. Paul Ray wants to see enacted. The bill suggests that advertisement of e-cigarettes as a "smoking cessation device" is banned from the state as well, to avoid misleading smokers who might be trying to quit their nicotine habit entirely.

Although individual cities, such as Albany and Beverly Hills, have taken their own steps towards regulating e-cigarettes, if the bill passes Utah will be the first state to enact state-wide regulation of the electronic nicotine products. 

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