From: StarTribune
Article by: THOMAS BRIANT
Allow me to explain, as I have to legislators, what’s in these products and why it’s not dangerous.
The Star Tribune editorial “Take safe course on little-studied e-cigs” (March 30) unfairly criticizes Gov. Mark Dayton’s position on legislation that would regulate electronic cigarettes.
The Star Tribune Editorial Board clearly lacks an in-depth understanding of electronic cigarettes and, like many anti-tobacco advocates, would prefer to regulate these new non-tobacco products like regular cigarettes. This kind of thinking would result in a public health disservice to those smokers who are seeking to transition to using electronic cigarettes.
The legislation in question is pending in both the House and the Senate. The House removed a proposed ban on e-cigarettes in public places and left in provisions prohibiting e-cigarette sales to minors, mandating annual compliance checks on retailers, requiring retailers be licensed to sell e-cigarettes and setting penalties for violating the law. The tobacco wholesale and retail trade associations that I represent support these other regulations to prevent the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.