Sacramento, CA – A new bill would subject electronic cigarettes to the same state bans on smokes. The bill would treat electronic cigarettes like any other tobacco product. On April 30th, the California Senate Judiciary Committee in a 4 to 1 voted sent SB 648 to the California Assembly. The legislation would impose the same limits that apply to other smokers regarding where the devices can be used under California’s existing smoke-free law. That would include medical facilities, public buildings, and workplaces. It would also give landlords the power to ban their use in a building and declare electronic cigarettes a hazard to the health of the public.
Those opposed to the bill say smoking bans were enacted to protect the public from harmful secondhand smoke, but electronic cigarettes have not been shown to cause harm to bystanders.
