WI Legislature Takes Up Question of Banning E-Cigarettes

Publication Date: 2014-03-05

• Author:Tim Morrissey
• Publication:Public News Service

A public hearing will be held at the State Capitol today on a bill by Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, that exempts e-cigarettes from Wisconsin's smoke-free air law.

Right now, they're not regulated, which Dona Wininsky, director of public policy and communications for the American Lung Association in Wisconsin, believes is wrong.

"Right now there's over 250 different brands," she said. "Each has its own combination of ingredients, and over half of them have candy and fruit flavors. Our position is that the Food and Drug Administration needs to issue some kind of regulations over these products."

Grothman contends there is no harm from e-cigarettes and that no one is exposed to secondhand smoke from them. But according to Wininsky, it's unknown if they're safe.