By JOHN REID BLACKWELL Richmond Times-Dispatch
State lawmakers will tackle at least one proposal during this General Assembly session to restrict the use of electronic cigarettes in some public places such as restaurants.
Smoking conventional cigarettes has been prohibited inside Virginia restaurants since 2009, with an exception for eateries that allow smoking only in separately enclosed and ventilated rooms.
A bill introduced by Sen. John C. Miller, D-Newport News, would expand that prohibition to include electronic cigarettes, the battery-powered devices that some smokers use as an alternative to conventional cigarettes.
Miller’s bill, which has been referred to the Senate committee on local government, seeks to broaden the definition of “smoking” in the Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act to include e-cigarettes, also known as vapor products.
The bill is facing opposition from the Virginia Smoke Free Association, a trade group that was formed last year by electronic cigarette retailers to advocate for the burgeoning e-cigarette industry. The group currently has about 50 members.
Miller said he introduced the bill to protect people from exposure to e-cigarette vapor in restaurants.
“A few years ago, we banned smoking in restaurants, and I think that is a good thing,” Miller said. “It protects folks from secondhand smoke and makes the dining experience much more enjoyable.”
“What we didn’t do is account for e-cigarettes,” he said. “You walk into a restaurant and there is somebody puffing away on an e-cig and spewing God knows what into the atmosphere.
“I just think, if we have banned smoking in restaurants, it is logical that we ban e-cigarettes in restaurants as well.”
The bill also would bar e-cigarette use in such areas as elevators, cashier lines, schools and school buses and day care centers.
Jay Taylor, owner of the Voltage Vapin’ store in Chesterfield County, contends it is unfair to lump e-cigs with conventional cigarettes. His store sells various electronic cigarettes and “vaping” products.
Research indicates that e-cigs contain far fewer toxins and carcinogens than conventional cigarettes, said Taylor, who is acting president of the Smoke Free Association.
Public health groups say that, because e-cigarettes are not regulated, there is no way to know what ingredients they might contain and their health risk.
The devices do not produce smoke from burning tobacco. Instead, they heat a liquid solution of propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin and nicotine, producing a vapor that the user inhales. The practice has come to be known as “vaping.”
“The reason I started this organization is to protect this industry for our consumers,” Taylor said. “I started my business because I was a three-pack-a-day smoker, and I was able to get off cigarettes within 48 hours by using these products. I knew if it would work for me, it would work for anybody.
“I have got thousands of customers that I have helped switch from traditional tobacco to electronic cigarettes, or vapor products,” he said. “I really feel like it is my duty to help protect this industry.”
To lobby on its behalf, the Smoke Free Association has retained Steve Baril, a partner with Kaplan Voekler Cunningham & Frank PLC in Richmond.
“Our agenda is not to advocate for the right to vape anywhere,” Baril said. “The way it stands now, any particular restaurant has the prerogative to ask a customer not to do that.”
Most chain restaurants have voluntarily banned e-cig use, Taylor said, based on anecdotal information. Independent and mom-and-pop restaurants have tended to be more open to vaping, “as long as you are not being obnoxious,” he said.
The Smoke Free Association also was gearing up to fight a bill introduced by Del. Paul E. Krizek, D-Fairfax, that would levy a 15 percent wholesale tax on e-cigarettes.
But Krizek said last week that he intends to withdraw the bill for this legislative session. He said he plans to work with public health groups to introduce a more comprehensive tax bill next year.
State lawmakers will tackle at least one proposal during this General Assembly session to restrict the use of electronic cigarettes in some public places such as restaurants.
Smoking conventional cigarettes has been prohibited inside Virginia restaurants since 2009, with an exception for eateries that allow smoking only in separately enclosed and ventilated rooms.
A bill introduced by Sen. John C. Miller, D-Newport News, would expand that prohibition to include electronic cigarettes, the battery-powered devices that some smokers use as an alternative to conventional cigarettes.
Miller’s bill, which has been referred to the Senate committee on local government, seeks to broaden the definition of “smoking” in the Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act to include e-cigarettes, also known as vapor products.
The bill is facing opposition from the Virginia Smoke Free Association, a trade group that was formed last year by electronic cigarette retailers to advocate for the burgeoning e-cigarette industry. The group currently has about 50 members.
Miller said he introduced the bill to protect people from exposure to e-cigarette vapor in restaurants.
“A few years ago, we banned smoking in restaurants, and I think that is a good thing,” Miller said. “It protects folks from secondhand smoke and makes the dining experience much more enjoyable.”
“What we didn’t do is account for e-cigarettes,” he said. “You walk into a restaurant and there is somebody puffing away on an e-cig and spewing God knows what into the atmosphere.
“I just think, if we have banned smoking in restaurants, it is logical that we ban e-cigarettes in restaurants as well.”
The bill also would bar e-cigarette use in such areas as elevators, cashier lines, schools and school buses and day care centers.
Jay Taylor, owner of the Voltage Vapin’ store in Chesterfield County, contends it is unfair to lump e-cigs with conventional cigarettes. His store sells various electronic cigarettes and “vaping” products.
Research indicates that e-cigs contain far fewer toxins and carcinogens than conventional cigarettes, said Taylor, who is acting president of the Smoke Free Association.
Public health groups say that, because e-cigarettes are not regulated, there is no way to know what ingredients they might contain and their health risk.
The devices do not produce smoke from burning tobacco. Instead, they heat a liquid solution of propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin and nicotine, producing a vapor that the user inhales. The practice has come to be known as “vaping.”
“The reason I started this organization is to protect this industry for our consumers,” Taylor said. “I started my business because I was a three-pack-a-day smoker, and I was able to get off cigarettes within 48 hours by using these products. I knew if it would work for me, it would work for anybody.
“I have got thousands of customers that I have helped switch from traditional tobacco to electronic cigarettes, or vapor products,” he said. “I really feel like it is my duty to help protect this industry.”
To lobby on its behalf, the Smoke Free Association has retained Steve Baril, a partner with Kaplan Voekler Cunningham & Frank PLC in Richmond.
“Our agenda is not to advocate for the right to vape anywhere,” Baril said. “The way it stands now, any particular restaurant has the prerogative to ask a customer not to do that.”
Most chain restaurants have voluntarily banned e-cig use, Taylor said, based on anecdotal information. Independent and mom-and-pop restaurants have tended to be more open to vaping, “as long as you are not being obnoxious,” he said.
The Smoke Free Association also was gearing up to fight a bill introduced by Del. Paul E. Krizek, D-Fairfax, that would levy a 15 percent wholesale tax on e-cigarettes.
But Krizek said last week that he intends to withdraw the bill for this legislative session. He said he plans to work with public health groups to introduce a more comprehensive tax bill next year.
Resource :http://www.newsadvance.com/work_it_lynchburg/news/legislation-would-prohibit-use-of-e-cigarettes-in-restaurants/article_b1b99a36-c350-11e5-8e73-2b8fb24b30bf.html
No comments:
Post a Comment