The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has the authority to regulate e-cigarettes, but until recently, vaping was considered safer than smoking. Now that e-cigarettes are suspected in serious illnesses and even deaths, regulating agencies are taking the threat more seriously, including in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services recently reported that 87 severe lung disease cases were confirmed and more than a dozen additional cases are still under investigation in the state.
At the state level, a proposal to raise the legal age for purchasing vaping products from 18 to 21 has bipartisan support. Another proposal in the state legislature would ban e-cigarettes in indoor, public places, where smoking already is banned.
“I introduced a state law proposal on e-cigarettes along with other state representatives in hopes of decreasing chances of anymore deaths being caused by the product,” said State Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa of Milwaukee. “Our proposal is having the electronic cigarettes as an addition to the no-smoking ban on Milwaukee’s public property.”
A ban on e-cigarettes in enclosed public spaces in Milwaukee went into effect in July, sponsored by Alderman Michael Murphy.
The American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Medical Society support the vaping restrictions proposed in the Wisconsin legislature.
Inspired by the concern of First Lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump elevated awareness of e-cigarettes as cases of lung diseases, affecting mostly teens, spread across the U.S. Trump said he supports banning flavored e-cigarettes.
“We can’t allow people to be sick and we can’t allow our youth to be so affected,” Trump said.