E-smoking on an airplane?

[leaford]

Well, I'll be finding out sooner or later. I'm itching for a vacation already. Maybe end of July, or at least by August.

[TheEmperorOfIceCream]

Me too. First time in my life I'm looking forward to a flight. I'm definitely blowing smoke rings at 30,000 feet...

[TropicalBob]

Recent blog entry on that topic: http://www.nowpublic.com:80/health/s...cigarettes-sky

[katink]

MartinAir now welcomes e-smoking aboard it's planes. I'm not sure, but I think that's the first western airline on the side of e-smoking. Don't know if they also fly on lines to/from the US though.

[aequitus]

I'm flying united tomorrow in the domestic US, I'll let you all know how it goes.

[TropicalBob]

Do NOT ask forum members to take up a collection for your bail. Here's something to read before you take off. This is on Crown 7's new blog:

Are CROWN 7 Products Airworthy?
June 20, 2008

At CROWN 7, we’re accustomed to answering questions from people about our line of tobacco-free and smoke-free electronic cigarettes, cigars and pipes. A lot of questions. And, when we’re asked questions so often, it seems like we start to come up with a lot of questions of your own. Once in a while, those questions surface after reading news reports like the one below.

“An unruly JetBlue passenger from Queens who lit up a cigarette mid-flight Tuesday forced the 145-passenger flight to be diverted after she became violent and uncooperative when asked to stop smoking.” — WCBSTV.com news report.

That news report prompted one CROWN 7 staffer to raise this question:

What might happen if an enthusiastic electronic cigarette aficionado took one of his tobacco-free, smoke-free and flame-free CROWN 7 cigarettes aboard a U.S. commercial passenger aircraft and started to use it?

DISCLAIMER: No one associated with CROWN 7 recommends you attempt to enjoy any CROWN 7 product while aboard a passenger airliner. If, however, you insist on doing so, we think you should understand the possible consequences of your actions. The list of possible consequences includes, but is not limited to, the following:

You’ll probably get yourself into a heap of trouble. — “In trouble with who?” you ask. First of all, with the airline’s flight crew members. Most crew members — in particular, the flight attendants — will, like most members of the general public, be unfamiliar with the concept of electronic cigarettes and the fact that they are tobacco-free and smoke-free — and, did we mention flame-free — products which rely upon rechargeable batteries to function.

You’ll probably need to hire yourself a good lawyer who may or may not be able to get you out of the above-mentioned “heap of trouble.” — “Why might I need a lawyer?” you ask. Because, these days, everyone in the airline business treats people who break the rules — or appear to be breaking the rules — with iron fists. That means they’ll probably take whatever actions are necessary — up to and including having you arrested upon landing — to prevent you from using your electronic cigarette.

You’ll need to have a lot of free time and a lot of spare change to cover your legal expenses. – Even if your lawyer cites the FAA’s “underlying safety rationale” (i.e., “smoking is prohibited in specific areas at all times to reduce the possibility of fire”) for prohibiting smoking aboard commercial airliners, it will likely cost you a lot of time and money to fund your legal effort. And do you really want to become the first person to prove his actions were in keeping with the letter if not necessarily the spirit of the law as outlined in the above-referenced FAA regulation.

CONCLUSION: Until a much larger number of Americans — including the FAA, the Department of Homeland Security and airline flight crew members — become familiar with the CROWN 7 line of tobacco-free, smoke-free and flame-free electronic cigarettes, cigars and pipes, we recommend you take the following measures:

“Light up” your CROWN 7 only when you’re on the ground; and if you can’t go without your CROWN 7 for the length of time it would take your airline to get you to your next travel destination, drive your car. After all, you’ll probably pay less for high-priced gasoline than you will for a high-priced lawyer.

[Minus Sign]

^^This from the guys who sold me on the idea that I can vape here, there, anywhere because its not smoking.

Kinda depressing.

[TropicalBob]

I am thoroughly disgusted at the sales pitches for our beloved e-devices. When I bought my first e-product, I actually believed these lies:

1. 'Smoke' anywhere. Not true. E-smoking anywhere outside your own home requires permission -- and it doesn't have to be granted. You can be individually banned anywhere by a property owner or authority. You have no "right" to e-smoke.

2. A safe alternative to cigarettes. Says who? Where are the long-term clinical trials to prove safety? Do we even know exactly how the liquid is made and what it contains? Safe? The answer can't be more than "maybe." The lack of knowledge doesn't support the claim of safety.

3. Step down and off cigarettes. From my experience, e-smoking is every bit as addictive as tobacco smoking. Few will succeed using this for quitting the addiction to nicotine. And nicotine is NOT a benign substance, as we addicts are learning.

4. Cartridge lasts as long as .... cigarettes. Bull.

5. And there's a kind of implication from most sellers that only cartridges need regular replacement. Boy, have we learned otherwise. We turn over the entire unit in a month or less!

Anytime the good slogan, Buyer Beware, pops up, we can be assured regulation in the consumer's name will follow.

[dnakr]

Great response TB, I couldn't have said it better. It is depressing knowing that the possibility of this being "accepted" is highly unlikely.

[e-girl]

I can tell you that DHS as a whole has not been briefed on these devices. Let's just say I know someone who works for them and had no clue what my electronic cigarette was when they saw it.

That being said, there is a gel in the carts which may come across as suspicious when going thru the check points at the airport. I don't even know if I would carry e-cigs on my person. Has anyone had one in their purse or carry-on and been questioned (in the US)?