Wales May Ban E-Cigarette Use Indoors

Wales may be the first region in the United Kingdom to ban electronic cigarette use in public buildings, according to recent reports.

The Welsh Health Minister Mark Drakeford has recently expressed concerns that the use of electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, in enclosed public spaces may undermine the message of legislation that banned the smoking of conventional tobacco-based cigarettes in public buildings back in 2007.

This is an unseal stance for a public health official set against e-cigarette use. Unites States lawmakers who have banned smoking e-cigarettes, called "vaping" in public buildings and parks in the cities of  Albany, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and even the entire state of Utah, have often expressed concern that the battery-run devices will encourage smoking in minors.

Even recent studies have shown that the electronic cigarettes are a threat to minors, encouraging the development of a nicotine habit that would encourage the later use to traditional tobacco products, which have been proven to be harmful to a person's health.

This first U.K. objection to vaping however, is that the devices will make it seem that it is acceptable again to smoke inside.

E-cigarettes themselves have not shown any signs to being harmful to other people. As the devices deliver nicotine in the form of an inhalant similar to vapor, there is no risk of second-hand smoke or tar build-up in the lungs.

However, other concerns are about the nicotine of the devices themselves. Health officials are wary that the constant risk-free nicotine fixes e-cigarettes provide can lead to a nicotine addiction epidemic across the globe and result in increased use rates of all kinds of nicotine products, including traditional cigarettes and cigars.

According to a Reuters report, this is the main concern of Drakeford, who is proposing that the devices be banned from use in public places, especially indoor settings.

The proposal is open for consultation until June 24, and will be presented before the Welsh Assembly if it gains enough political backing.