Electronic cigarettes have been promoted for years as a healthier alternative to tobacco, and while the jury is still out on that, what's not in question is that Big Tobacco is getting completely behind marketing these products to a new generation of smokers.
In lieu of carcinogenic tobacco, e-cigarettes typically contain three main ingredients: nicotine, a flavoring of some kind and propylene glycol — a syrupy synthetic liquid added to food, cosmetics, and certain medicines to absorb water and help them stay moist. Unlike conventional cigarettes, e-cigarette brands can advertise on television.
That's something that Senator Bill Nelson would like to end. The Florida Democrat is co-sponsoring a bill introduced by California's Barbara Boxer — the Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act — which would prohibit the marketing of e-cigarettes to children and teens.
"Sometimes it is very attractive models that are smoking e-cigarettes that look just like a real cigarette. In other cases, it's cartoons .and in other cases they have the flavors that are very appealing and would be to young people," Nelson told reporters last Friday in his Tampa district office.
The bill would permit the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to determine what constitutes marketing e-cigarettes to children, and would allow the FTC to work with states attorneys general to enforce the ban.
"The very reason that years ago we got rid of advertising for cigarettes (was) so as not to get young people hooked on nicotine, of which they would have an addiction for the rest of their lives and it would be very hard to break that addiction," Nelson said on Friday. "So we ought to ban the advertising of e-cigarettes, because it's purpose is geared to young people to get them started. The whole thing is going to start again. They're going to get addicted to nicotine."
Scientific American recently reported that "various studies suggest the vapors from e-cigarettes contain several cancer-causing substances, as well as incredibly tiny particles of tin, chromium, nickel and other heavy metals, which, in large enough concentrations, can damage the lungs." The New York Times reported in June that while tobacco companies say they do not yet see evidence that most smokers are captivated by e-cigarettes, they could become so.
The bill has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Nelson made his comments about e-cigarettes at a press conference on Friday, which he called to draw attention to new legislation he was filing with other lawmakers to regulate liquid nicotine bottles for e-cigs and make them child-proof to prevent kids from getting into them.
