Sen. Chuck Schumer Proposes Bill Against Electronic Cigarettes

Senator Charles Schumer is co-sponsoring a bill designed to prohibit electronic cigarette advertising campaigns that would appeal to minors. This bill even proposes the prohibition of flavored "vape" cartridges as an option.

Electronic cigarettes, thin battery-run devices that vaporize liquid nicotine for users, have been under heavy public scrutiny recently as health officials and legislators try to get a handle on the largely unregulated and very new industry.

Currently the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) cannot regulate electronic cigarettes because they do not contain tobacco. Also, according to the very little scientific data published on the subject, 'vaping' and second-hand vaping have not been found to cause any short-term or direct harm to a person's body, unlike their more traditional tobacco-based counterparts.

Still, this hasn't stopped some cities, if not states, from treating the devices as potential threats. So far Albany, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and the entire state of Utah have banned the use of e-cigarettes in public places with varying levels of severity. The common argument behind these restrictive laws is that limiting where the device can be smoked lowers the likelihood that minors will notice and take an interest in the devices. Many cities have already banned to sale of e-cigarettes to minors younger than 21 years old, but this latest bill proposes the first restriction to e-cigarette advertisement that could be adopted nationally.

Schumer's bill, which was proposed last Sunday, already has support from other senators, including a series of co-sponsors such as Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

The timing of this bill also was uncanny. Just last week new research released by JAMA Pediatrics that claims that although e-cigarette use remains arguably harmless physically, it has been found to greatly encourage general nicotine and tobacco habits in teens.