Boxer, others, to DOT: Ban e-smokes on airplanes

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)– Democratic U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (California), Dick Durbin (Illinois), Tom Harkin (Iowa, Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Jack Reed (Rhode Island) and Edward J. Markey (Massachusetts) on Tuesday, June 10, urged the Department of Transportation to finally prohibit the use of e-cigarettes on airplanes. DOT first proposed a ban more than two years ago, but has delayed issuing a final regulation that would bar e-cigarette “vaping” on all domestic and international flights to or from the United States.

In Tuesday’s letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, the Senators wrote, “We are writing to you with great concern about protecting consumer health on commercial flights. While many major carriers have decided to prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes, federal regulations still allow these products to be used during flight. The Department of Transportation first published proposed rules to prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes on aircraft on September 15, 2011…. It is unacceptable that it has been more than two years and this rule has yet to be finalized.”

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The letter points out that numerous electronic cigarette companies have marketed their products as a way to break the rules and smoke in places where traditional cigarettes are banned, such as airplanes. The Senators included examples of advertisements that feature or imply the use of electronic cigarettes on airplanes.

The DOT signaled its concern about the potential health impacts of e-cigarettes when it first proposed the ban in 2011, noting that “[r]eleasing a vapor that may contain harmful substances or respiratory irritants in a confined space, especially to those who are at a higher risk, is contrary to the purpose and intent of the statutory and regulatory ban on smoking aboard aircraft.”

While many e-cigarette manufacturers market their products as a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes, recent studies have raised concerns about the possible health impacts of e-cigarette vapor on users and secondhand inhalers as a result of exposure to the carcinogens and toxins found in e-cigarettes.

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