New York State lawmakers are expected Monday to consider including e-cigarettes in the state's indoor smoking ban with a Senate health committee reportedly holding a hearing on the proposal.
New York City has already taken similar action, as has Chicago in April.
The e-cigarette ban proposal is to be discussed by both opponents and advocates of the ban during the Monday hearing, according to new reports.
The news comes just weeks after Chicago's new ban was enacted. That law outlaws smoking the vapor devices in any indoor place.
The Chicago law, which was passed in January, prohibits lighting up in most public places, such as bars and restaurants, and forces stores to sell the cigarettes from behind a counter to stem access to those under the allowed smoking age.
The New York State ban proposal also comes on the heels of the Food and Drug Administration issuing a call for comment on a federal law that would limit marketing of e-cigarettes and ban them from being sold to minors.
"Tobacco remains the leading cause of death and disease in this country," said FDA commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. in a press release. "This is an important moment for consumer protection and a significant proposal that if finalized as written would bring FDA oversight to many new tobacco products."
Critics of e-cigarettes describe them as a potential 'gateway' drug that could lead minors to using other drugs such as cocaine, heroin and marijuana. They're also not happy with marketing campaigns that seem to be aimed at youngsters or the fact that vendors are now selling flavored device options.
Those advocating bans and sales restrictions say it's necessary so not to undermine current tobacco laws on the books.
Yet advocates, mostly smokers trying to quit tobacco cigarettes, claim they aren't harmful to the public as cigarettes and shouldn't fall under the same rules and laws.
But research in the past six months has focused on potential health issues with e-cigarettes.
One report states vapor particles from new deep inhalation may be getting lodged into lung tissue. But what damage or impact that may bring is still an unknown. The potential is that the particles could play health havoc for those who have any sort of respiratory issue.
The research team also stated that cancer-causing agents produced by traditional tobacco products are not in e-cigarettes.
"Everything we found was what the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] and others generally regard as safe," he said, noting that the cancer-causing agents produced by burning tobacco are not present in e-cigarettes.
Another recent study reveals the vapor cigarettes are becoming increasingly attractive to young kids.
