E-Cig Legislation Update: Pueblo, Colorado/WHO ReportFriday, October 26th, 2012 The latest news in electronic cigarette legislation comes from Pueblo, Colorado. While it might not be ideal, it could be worse, all things considered.

In this case, the Pueblo City Council is considering requiring licensing for all businesses within the city that sell electronic cigarettes. It seems that this proposed legislation is a response to a survey performed in 2008 that indicated a high incidence of tobacco use among young people.

You probably already know what we’re going to say about this, but that doesn’t make it any less true: electronic cigarettes are not tobacco products. When government bodies misunderstand the entire nature of vapor smoking devices, it endangers vapers everywhere.

Still, requiring businesses to obtain licensing isn’t a ban, and vapers tend to agree that these devices aren’t for kids. While we hope the Pueblo City Council does significantly more research before passing any legislation, it’s nice to see a city looking at solutions that don’t involve sweeping bans.

WHO Report – It Might be Time to Write Your Congressman

We were alerted to this report by the blog of Dr. Michael Siegel, a Boston University School of Public Health professor. There’s quite a bit about the report that’s problematic . . . including the idea that vaping should be restricted because the sheer act of using an electronic cigarette constitutes advertising.

It all stems from the same issue we keep seeing in the e-cig industry, and the same thing every new technology has faced. When televisions first hit the market, for example, there were movements to ban them because some believed they would cause blindness. Radio faced similar concerns regarding hearing and even possible brain tumors. Both eventually moved into the mainstream, of course, and we expect that same future for electronic cigarettes.

If you want to speed the process along, though, you can be heard on this issue in the same way you can be heard on any issue important to you: write your congressman. Not sure who that is? You can find out here.

Of course, with election season in full swing you have plenty of time to draft your letter while waiting to find out who will represent you in the next term. To make it easier, though, we are in the process of creating a template you can use to help your government representatives understand what electronic cigarettes are and why it’s important that they remain available as a smoking alternative.

We’ll post that template here for you next week. Until then, happy vaping!




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