Attorney general bans e-cigs

The sale of electronic cigarettes has been banned in Oregon by state Attorney General John Kroger until the Federal Drug Administration proves the safety of the product or until a court rules the FDA does not have the authority to regulate them. This is according to a press release from the attorney general’s office.

The product in question is a battery operated nicotine delivery device, which consists of a heating element and a replaceable plastic cartridge that contains various chemicals and liquid nicotine in many flavors, such as cherry and mint. The heating element vaporizes the liquid, which the user inhales as if it was smoke.

Even if courts decide the FDA does not have regulatory authority over e-cigarettes, they may not be sold in Oregon unless there is competent and reliable scientific evidence to support the product’s claims of safety, according to the press release.

The ban came at the end of July and is the first of its kind in the nation.

In Oregon, the ban will affect two major travel store chains, Pilot Travel Centers and TA Operating, both of which sell “NJOY” brand e-cigarettes.

Because the e-cigarette devices do not emit any smoke, users of them are permitted to use them in locations that have cigarette bans such as airplanes and restaurants.

The PSU Campus Public Safety Office indicated that the use of e-cigarettes on campus would likely fall under the campus rules for tobacco use, which prohibit smoking in buildings and within 20 feet of buildings.

“But I don’t think it’s a big issue unless someone complains, since there is no smoke,” said a campus safety officer.

The FDA has so far tested several varieties of e-cigarettes and found many contained forms of nitrosamine, a chemical known to cause cancer in humans. The agency said quality control was “inconsistent or nonexistent,” and some varieties that claimed to have no nicotine actually contained low levels, according to the FDA Web site.