Idaho is free.
A new report from Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released this week called for the federal government to hit electronic cigarettes with high taxes, regulatory restrictions, limits on advertising for vaping products, and bans on the sale of some vaping products.
The alarmist report could pave the way for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to take action to curb the growth of vaping, even though doing so would make it harder for smokers to switch to e-cigarettes, which are undeniably safer than traditional, combustible cigarettes.
Some state and local governments are already way ahead of Murthy. Two states in particular—California and Massachusetts—account for more than 200 local-level restrictions on the sale or use of electronic cigarettes. A new report from Halo Cigs, a leading producer of e-cigarettes and other vaping products, takes a look at the wide range of regulations on vaping at the state and local levels.
Massachusetts, despite its small size, has the most local restrictions on where e-cigarettes can be bought or used. The state is one of several that apply the same rules to vaping products as traditional cigarettes and other tobacco products—despite the fact that e-cigarettes contain no tobacco. That’s a common fallacy surrounding the regulations of e-cigarettes, and one that Murphy used repeatedly in his new report, as Reason’s Jacob Sullum pointed out yesterday.
Via Reason