Should E-Cigarettes Fall Under Wisconsin’s Smoking Ban?

As Wisconsin lawmakers consider exempting e-cigarettes from the statewide smoking ban, scientists have come out with a report today suggesting that for teens, the smoking substitute may be a gateway to real cigarettes.

A study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics says youth who tried electronic cigarettes were six times more likely to smoke a regular cigarette than those who’d never used the device. The study comes as state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) seeks to clarify the state’s smoking ban.

Grothman says the ban doesn’t apply to e-cigarettes because the vaporizing devices don’t contain tobacco or emit smoke. The devices do, however, contain addictive nicotine.

At a recent legislative hearing, Dr. Dipesh Navsaria said use of e-cigarettes should not be encouraged. He’s an assistant professor of pediatrics with UW’s School of Medicine and Public Health.

“We will send a message to children ultimately,” Navsaria said, “that ‘this can’t be so bad,’ or ‘this must be okay, if it’s being permitted here.’”

Wisconsin companies that make the chemical mixture in e-cigarettes testified in favor of Grothman’s bill. Susan Geiger is communications director for Johnson Creek Enterprises. “This a new part of American culture and it has a lot of benefits,” Geiger said.

E-cigarette advocates say the devices can help wean people from smoking, but doctors say there aren’t enough studies to prove the safety of e-cigarettes. Grothman’s bill is opposed by the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association. The Tavern League of Wisconsin supports the bill, as does the trade group for convenience stores.