While the effort to reduce secondhand smoke inhalation from combustible cigarettes is noble, vapor produced from e-cigarettes does not contain the harmful tar and chemicals found in combustible cigarettes. It does not create the same degree of harm.

MONTGOMERY, AL — This spring, Alabama state lawmakers passed a bill (HB3) that is now in effect, prohibiting the use of cigarettes and vaping products in vehicles when a child 14 years of age or younger is present.

Elizabeth Hicks, US Affairs Analyst with the consumer advocacy group Consumer Choice Center, said of HB3, “Legislation like this further demonstrates how regulators view vaping and smoking as the same, when in reality, numerous studies have shown vaping to be 95% less harmful. While the effort to reduce secondhand smoke inhalation from combustible cigarettes is noble, vapor produced from e-cigarettes does not contain the harmful tar and chemicals found in combustible cigarettes. It does not create the same degree of harm.

“Treating vaping like cigarettes hampers public health by deterring smokers from adopting a less harmful nicotine option. With 8,600 annual smoking-related deaths in Alabama, regulators should view vaping as a harm reduction tool rather than regulating it as cigarettes,” added Hicks.

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