Letter of the Day (Dec. 11): E-cigarettes

Consistency is in order. Remember, there are still many questions about their use.

December 10, 2013 at 11:47PM
John Hartigan, proprietor of Vapeology LA, a store selling electronic cigarettes and related items, takes a puff of an electronic cigarette at his store in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013. Two California cities have voted to ban electronic cigarettes in public places, and Los Angeles on Wednesday moved to prohibit their sale to minors. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) ORG XMIT: MIN2013121014155645
John Hartigan, proprietor of Vapeology LA, a store selling electronic cigarettes and related items, takes a puff of an electronic cigarette at his store in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013. Two California cities have voted to ban electronic cigarettes in public places, and Los Angeles on Wednesday moved to prohibit their sale to minors. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) ORG XMIT: MIN2013121014155645 (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

I would like to address the misconceptions raised in a Dec. 10 commentary ("E-cigarettes: Next best thing to quitting"). I will introduce legislation not to ban e-cigarettes but simply to add their use to the regulations of the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, landmark legislation passed in 1975. This would bring greater consistency to regulations for a product facing growing scrutiny from the medical community and public-health advocates and end the patchwork system of local governments and even private industries setting their own paths.

It should be noted that the federal Food and Drug Administration has not affirmed the safety of the use of e-cigarettes nor even approved them as a smoking-cessation device.

Minnesota should once again lead on this issue.

State Rep. PHYLLIS KAHN, DFL-Minneapolis
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