A bill that would have banned the use of electronic cigarettes in restaurants and many other public places in Virginia was defeated in a General Assembly committee on Tuesday.
By an 8-4 voice vote, the Senate’s committee on local government set aside the legislation introduced by Sen. John C. Miller, D-Newport News, which sought to include restrictions on e-cigarettes in the state’s Clean Indoor Air Act.
“E-cigarettes have not been fully studied, so there is not a lot that we do know,” Miller told the committee. “We don’t know the potential risks of e-cigarettes.”
The Food and Drug Administration does not currently regulate e-cigarettes, though it is studying the product. Miller said lawmakers should not wait for the FDA to finish its research and should take steps now to protect public health.
“Shouldn’t we err on the side of caution and prohibit their use and protect the health of our children and our constituents?” Miller said during the committee meeting. “If they prove to be safe, I will be back to repeal the law.”
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Smoking conventional cigarettes has been prohibited inside Virginia restaurants since 2009, with an exception for eateries that allow smoking only in separately enclosed and ventilated rooms.
Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered devices that some smokers use as an alternative to conventional cigarettes. Instead of producing smoke, they produce a vapor mixture of nicotine and flavorings that the user inhales.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration was in favor of Miller’s bill, a representative of the Virginia Department of Health told the committee.
A representative for the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association said the group also supported the bill.
“This was one (bill) that actually provided a little bit of clarity for our membership,” said Kristian Scales, vice president of government affairs for the association.
“The law isn’t explicitly clear as to how it treats vapes (e-cigs) and so our restaurant members are left to make that determination for themselves, and certainly they often do. They just thought this was a step in the right direction and gave them more clarity.”
Opponents of the proposed ban, including Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc., the nation’s largest tobacco company, argued that e-cigarettes produce fewer toxins than traditional cigarettes and that a ban is not justified.
Restaurants already have the option to prohibit e-cigarettes on their own property, said Stephen Baril, a lobbyist for the Virginia Smoke Free Association, a trade group that was formed last year by electronic cigarette retailers.
“What we have here ... is an emerging product and industry that looks like it has a great deal of benefit to people who want an alternative to cigarette smoke,” Baril said. “It would be premature to pass this bill today.”