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Medicine Government United States

San Francisco Moves To Ban E-Cigarettes Until Health Effects Known (bbc.com) 228

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Officials in San Francisco have proposed a new law to ban e-cigarette sales until their health effects are evaluated by the U.S. government. The law appears to be the first of its kind in the U.S. and seeks to curb a rising usage by young people. Critics, however, say it will make it harder for people to kick addiction. A second city law would bar making, selling or distributing tobacco on city property and is aimed at an e-cigarette firm renting on Pier 70. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its proposed guidelines, giving companies until 2021 to apply to have their e-cigarette products evaluated. A deadline had initially been set for August 2018, but the agency later said more preparation time was needed. San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera, one of the co-authors of the bill, which is yet to be approved, said reviews should have been done before they were sold. Juul, one of the most popular U.S. e-cigarette firms, rents space on Pier 70. It said in a statement: "This proposed legislation begs the question -- why would the city be comfortable with combustible cigarettes being on shelves when we know they kill more than 480,000 Americans per year?"
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San Francisco Moves To Ban E-Cigarettes Until Health Effects Known

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  • But Pot is fine (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    So...have the health effects of pot been fully researched by the government? Does anyone else find it interesting that the cities and states that are the most friendly to legalized pot also seem to be the most hostile to cigarettes (and e-cigs now)? I'm pretty sure that intentionally sucking the smoke from burned plants of any kind isn't very good for you. The libertarian in me doesn't give a crap about either. One might come to the conclusion that they are OK legalizing things that they personally like, an

    • So...have the health effects of pot been fully researched by the government?

      Lots and lots and lots of bogus, paid-for "studies" intended to show how terribly bad it is... do those count??

    • have the health effects of pot been fully researched by the government?

      Depends on what you mean by "fully". The current studies point to it being pretty safe unless you burn it and inhale the smoke. And, the natural study of "all these people who smoke a shitload of pot" seems to show it does not have teh same cancer risk as cigarettes.

  • by Tony Isaac ( 1301187 ) on Wednesday March 20, 2019 @11:19PM (#58308294) Homepage

    I don't smoke at all, but my 24-year-old son did, until e-cigarettes became popular.

    First, no tar. And no stench.

    I'd a lot rather he puff on those candy things than the old-fashioned smoky ones.

    Would it be better if he didn't do any of them? Yes. But if I had to choose, I'd choose the e-cigs any day.

    • But if I had to choose, I'd choose the e-cigs any day.

      e-cigs are so much better for you than cigarettes that everyone should switch to them immediately. For reasons you mentioned, like tar.

      If someone wants to quit, then quit later, but switch to e-cigs now.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Thursday March 21, 2019 @04:44AM (#58308886) Homepage Journal

      When I read the headline I assumed they just meant banning their use in public spaces, like cigarettes, but no... They actually want to ban them completely.

    • Pay attention to the flavors he uses (or get him to do it)! Some of them can cause pretty shitty consequences, like popcorn lung. I mean, if he's willing to go to his second or third favorite flavor (assuming he likes a dangerous one), he can avoid some big risk factors.

      • If only I had that much influence over my 24-year-old!

    • How about the fact that they serve as a 'gateway' to smoking tobacco? Or that they can contain nicotine, which is highly and intentionally addictive? Nicotine is naturally occurring in tobacco; in e-cig 'juice' they have to add it on purpose.
      • Gateway? My son was already smoking cigarettes. He switched to vaping. I think that's a good move. Quitting would be even better, of course.

  • by Tony Isaac ( 1301187 ) on Wednesday March 20, 2019 @11:20PM (#58308296) Homepage

    How does that make sense?

  • Morons (Score:5, Insightful)

    by slashmydots ( 2189826 ) on Wednesday March 20, 2019 @11:41PM (#58308348)
    Ban it first, test it later. Now THAT is typical California politics.
  • ...everything in California causes cancer, read the labels.... exceptions are the things that probably will kill you and many of these things don't have labels. Can you name any of these?

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Banning is not the answer. Steer people in the direction you want by making it hurt a little. And at the same time make them pay the bulk of the consequences by collecting the tax and using those funds accordingly.

    Stupid government doesn't learn from the past so they jump to "no" and just drive it underground so crooks can profit. Then government faces the burden of cost fighting crime and the consequences of product X.

  • Just one question... who would pay for the research? There aren't many big players and this thing would take years. Plus, how do you prove safety? Safer than not smoking? Obviously not. But better than the alternative, which is carrying on that 20 a day habit

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