According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Electronic
cigarettes are not safe for youth, young adults, pregnant
women, or adults who do not currently
use tobacco products.
Additionally, the CDC states
that there is no safe nicotine delivery product, and all nicotine delivery products carry a risk.
The World
Health Organization (WHO) recommends that electronic smoking
devices not be used indoors, especially in smoke-free
environments, in order
to minimize the risk to
bystanders of breathing in the aerosol
emitted by the devices and to avoid undermining the enforcement of smoke-free laws.
E-cigarettes are now the most commonly
used nicotine delivery
product among youth, surpassing conventional cigarettes in 2014. E-cigarette use is strongly associated with the use of other tobacco products
among youth and young adults,
including cigarettes and other combustible tobacco products. E-cigarette use among
youth and young
adults has become
a public health concern.
After testing a number of e-cigarettes from two leading
manufacturers, the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) determined that various samples
tested contained not only nicotine
but also detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic chemicals, including tobacco-specific nitrosamines and diethylene glycol,
a toxic chemical used in antifreeze. The FDA’s testing
also suggested that “quality control
processes used to manufacture these products are inconsistent or non-existent.”
” E-cigarettes produce a vapor of undetermined and potentially harmful substances, which may appear like the smoke emitted
by traditional tobacco
products.
Accordingly, the board of health finds and declares that the purposes
of this regulation are (1) to protect
the public health and welfare
by prohibiting vaping in public places and places of employment; and (2) to guarantee
the right of individuals who do not vape to breathe vape free air, and to recognize that the need to breathe
vape free air shall have priority over the desire to vape, and (3) to protect
the public health
and welfare by prohibiting vaping and the use of electronic cigarette
devices in public places and places of employment,
- discourage youth from initiation of vaping thereby
developing a nicotine addiction, (5) facilitate nicotine
cessation by active
smokers.
According to the Surgeon General of the United States, E-cigarettes are a rapidly emerging and diversified product class, these devices typically deliver flavorings, and other additives to users via an inhaled aerosol. These devices are referred to by a variety of names, including “e-cigs,” “e-hookahs,” “mods,” “vape pens,” “vapes,” and “tank systems.”
Kanawha-Charelston Board of Health Indoor Vaping Regulation