On Monday Vancouver City Council voted to ban the use of all tobacco products in city parks.
The ban extends to e-cigarettes and I've been trying to find out why. According to an article I have just read online, the principal arguments are:
1. E-cigarettes deliver nicotine to the smoker in a vapor form and nicotine is highly addictive
2. They are unregulated and have not been sufficiently tested for safety
3. Lack of regulation and quality control means the amount of nicotine in each drag of an e-cigarette is inconsistent
4. Tests by the US Food and Drug Administration show that e-cigarettes contain harmful chemicals such as diethylene glycol, a component of antifreeze that’s toxic to humans and is banned in food and drugs
5. There were also detectable levels of a known carcinogen called nitrosamine and other toxic chemicals that users could potentially inhale
6. Health experts have expressed concern that e-cigarettes are marketed toward young people since the devices come in pink, gold or blue with flavours such as chocolate and bubble gum and there is no health warning
7. Claims that e-cigarettes can help smokers quit are unsubstantiated
8. Even if they do help smokers to quit, e-cigarettes could entice young people to start smoking
See: Are e-cigarettes safe? (Medical Discovery News)
I have also heard it said that an e-cigarette can look, at a distance, like a real cigarette and this could alarm non-smokers who might think that they are in danger of being exposed (allegedly) to thousands of cancer-causing chemicals (aka "secondhand smoke") ...
Yes, it's official: e-cigarettes can scare you to death.
See also: The e-cigarette debate (Boston Globe) and Tobacco haters, kick your filthy habit (Spiked)