In Springfield, Illinois, two newly passed laws by the state legislature will be enforced:

1) Require “electronic cigarette cartridges and liquids sold and marketed for the refilling of e-cigarette cartridges may be sold only in special packaging.”

2) E-cigarettes and vapor products must be kept behind store counters in an age-restricted area or in a sealed display case.

On January 1, 2015, all companies that create e-liquid are required to pack the products in child-proof bottles – something that a lot of e-liquid manufacturers have already done way before – and the products themselves have to be stored out of the reach of consumers in a bid to discourage teens from buying e-liquids.

The child-proof caps on e-liquid bottles are similar on medication bottles. In order to ensure that the products are not tampered with, some manufacturers also began sealing the bottles. The new laws, which are part of the revised Illinois Poison Prevention Packaging Act, were passed in August with the specific aim to minimize the instance of children accidentally ingesting e-liquid.

In the US where vaping has surpassed traditional cigarette smoking in popularity among teens, stricter laws are being imposed to stop minors from accessing such products. Illinois is one of the latest states, along with Texas, Washington and San Francisco, to tighten its hold on electronic cigarette distribution.

Electronic cigarettes are meant to help smokers quit the habit for good. However, these devices have started luring kids into vaping. As such, local authorities across different states started passing laws to regulate how electronic cigarettes and its accompanying products are being marketed, packaged and sold in the market.

The device works by charging a couple of coils embedded with rolled cotton. The cotton is then saturated with a liquid that contain food flavoring, glycerin and nicotine. Once the coils are heated, they produce inhalable vapor through its atomizer. The device is used the same way as conventional cigarette smoking but seemingly without all the toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke.

While vape companies are marketing these devices as “safer alternative” to tobacco smoking, health experts are divided over it. Some claims that second hand smoke from vape products may have hidden dangers to the health. But the lack of information regarding the dangers, risks and benefits of vaping led to authorities scrambling for prohibition of the products.

While some studies support the claims of vape companies, there are others that say electronic cigarette could cause certain diseases. Major groups, including the American Lung Association and the World Health Organization, are calling for the regulation of electronic cigarette for public safety. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control or CDC note that electronic devices are potentially creating a new generation of nicotine addicts, it also conditions the mind of the youth that smoking is normal.

Despite the many calls for regulation from the public, the Food and Drug Administration has yet to set down national guidelines on packaging and selling of these devices. It’s expected that the agency will announce national laws that restrict these devices in April.

According to the new proposed European Union legislation, every electronic cigarette product that is now available in Britain will be removed from the shelves and banned.  In a confidential compromise document draft by the European Commission, it was believed that it seeks to knock over a vote by the MEPs to reject the prohibition of the current form of electronic cigarettes.

According to the draft, officials in Brussels are worried of the dangers in the possibility of ecigs being used as gateway to real smoking.  Thus, they would like to include these smoke-free alternatives under the new Tobacco Products Directive although there is no tobacco in them.

Enraging Ecig Suppliers

No entrepreneur would be happy if the business is being threatened by unreasonable legislation.  Thus, this bid to outlaw ecigarettes really annoyed suppliers from Britain where there are about 1.3 million out of the 10 million smokers who have switched and are now using electronic cigarettes.

Totally Wicked is an ecig supplier located in Lancashire. Its Chief Executive Officer Fraser Cooper accused the officials of the European Union to introduce this prohibition by the back door, non-cooperating with the European Parliament.

He said that the unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats are drafting proposals that will deny millions of smokers (former and current) of the safer tobacco cigarette alternatives behind closed doors.

A Ban In Town

The proposal came at the same times as a northern France town held the position to be the first to enforce an ecig ban in all its public buildings.

The town was Saint-Lo in La Manche in the Normandy region.  Mayor François Digard passed the decree last month of November that essentially outlaws electronic cigarettes. This was after several incidents of complaints from the town residents.

In the country of France, there are about 1.5 million users of the smoke-free alternatives. Country officials are said to be still considering a similar ban, but the town mayor obviously made a move in advance because bad tempered non-smokers are intensely complaining about ecig users and their billowing clouds of vapor even inside public libraries.

Mayor Digard said that ecigs are not accepted neutrally in the immediate surroundings.  The devices emit a bit of smoke and odor that bothers other people, he said.

Banned By Some Establishments

Also in Britain, JD Wetherspoon, a chain of pubs and other train operators have already enforced their ecig bans.

With cigarette smoking highly opposed and intensely stigmatized ecig sales have raised significantly.  Like real cigarettes, ecigs also deliver nicotine, but the process involved in the operation of these devices differs from real cigarettes.

Dangerous Smoking Simulation

Ecigs do not produce smoke from combustion, but vapors from vaporization.  Thus, there are no tar, toxins and other inconveniences.  Considered healthier compared to tobacco by its proponents; but heavily antagonized by some health officials.

Last week in Netherlands, the public health institute there has published a policy paper wherein it was claimed that ecigarettes cause the same harm as ordinary cigarettes.  They are likewise addictive and have some poisonous substances, the paper said.

In Britain and throughout EU, ecigarettes are not bound by the laws on tobacco since they contain no tobacco.

Officials reportedly, were worried since ecig use closely mimics the act of smoking. They are likewise believed to be heavily marketed to the youth.

In accordance to the proposal, if approved it would ban by 2017 all ecigarettes producing nicotine levels that are more than 20 mg/ml. Supplier claim that all current products would mostly be eliminated if ever.

Flavors that are used in nicotine replacement therapies and all other flavors that attract the youth shall be wiped out, the paper stated.  If this ban is approved by 2017, about 5 million ecig users will be deprived of their alternatives and possibly just go back to smoking tobacco.

According to Conservative MEP Martin Callanan, it will be crazy to force ecigs off the shelves. These ecigs serves as valuable support for smokers in desperation to quit; they potentially could reduce the number of unnecessary deaths.