This whole wave of anti vaping proposals at the local level has as much to do with the staggering numbers of minors using ecigs as it does with any of the other arguments. I think we will have far more to fear at the local level than at the federal level because it will be so much easier to enact legislation.
If you were to go back one small generational leap, you would find that smoking was pretty much looked down upon by the youth of this country. My daughter who is now 28 does not remember anyone in her high school or even college class smoking-or at least openly admitting that they smoked. It just was not done.
Now, you have kids vaping in class and vaping huge clouds of the most obnoxious juice they can find in very public places.
I do blame the unscrupulous merchants who put ecigs in the hands of minors. A few months ago, I posted a thread about how we vapers were going to get screwed by all of these minors vaping after posting my observations about the youth of the clientele in a B&M. One genius even went so far as to call me a liar. Now, just a few months later, it's out in the open. Lord, there was even a thread on here about seniors in high school vaping in class! Just look at the number of YouTube videos posted by minors, or go to a movie and get fogged out by some disgusting vape as we did when we went to see the latest Thor movie.
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that so many more kids are vaping than would have ever smoked. Vaping has proven to be a miracle habit breaker from cigarette addiction which we know is bad for you. Is it really safe over the long term? We just do not know. Deadly nighshade can be found in a variety of plants and vegitables: Potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarios, pepinos, pimentos, paprika, and cayenne peppers. There are juices out there like pizza, and who knows how they got it. Who really knows what is in it?
The non vaper has every right not to be exposed to vaping. Some of you will say that you are being exposed to perfume or body odor. Vaping smells better, but only sometimes. Ever try something with Dark Vapur? Unfortunately, you are still a minority.
Now adults see kids running in droves to a new addicition. The moneyed interests don't even have to try very hard to get anti-vaping legislation in place.
I agree with some of this ... all it takes is a few kids vaping, and the alarm bells go off. In some ways, this reminds me of the movement to ban violent video games. Good grief ... if kids started licking doorknobs as a fad, we'd probably see some folks trying to outlaw them.
I also agree that vaping in public indoor spaces is a bad idea, unless it's done stealthily. Nothing could be worse for vapers than a teenager blowing huge clouds in a movie theater, or a fast food restaurant. Any B&M vape store proprietor who lets minors in their store (let alone sells them anything) isn't thinking very clearly about their own economic interests.
All of that said, there are a few nontrivial points you make that I strongly disagree with:
1) I don't know of anything which is "safe," except drinking sterilized distilled water. This isn't - nor should be - the standard. The ingredients in properly-manufactured e-juice have all been thoroughly vetted, with the exception perhaps of certain flavorings (many of which are already used in chewing gum). Nicotine and PG are already used in FDA-approved medicines (like nicotine or asthma inhalers, both of which are approved for long-term use). VG is just that - it's what fogs up your kitchen when you make pasta sauce. So I don't think we want to tell people that it's not "safe," because the inference is that UNsafe things should be banned.
2) The "early adopter" states like NJ, UT, and ND (plus AR, I think) defined vaping as smoking for purposes of their Indoor Clean Air Acts long before vapers were around in any significant numbers - and long before kids got into it. So there's something else going on there. There's also no rational reason why vaping s/b treated as smoking for purposes of
outdoor vaping restrictions. Once again, we're talking about more than public safety or the effect of annoying teenagers. This can only be explained by the fact that the Tobacco Control Industry has sucessfully persuaded policy makers that vaping is indistinguishable from smoking.
3) You're right to say that it's "easier" to enact anti-vaping ordinances at the local level. But why? I think once again, the answer has to be the Tobacco Control Industry. Junk studies and alarmist propaganda lead to the very media stories that encourage politicians to jump on the bandwagon, in order to "protect" society. I could mention the totally-discredited FDA '09 diethelyne glycol and "antifreeze" report - which is still to this day cited in about half the media pieces. Or the more recent Roswell Park Cancer Inst. study on "thirdhand smoke" - which in turn has lead to Banzhaf's suggestion that parents re-open custody proceedings, on the grounds that their estranged spouse is a vaper.
So the reason that it's easier to enact local statutes is that anti-vaping propaganda is everywhere, and it can't be dealt with except by "boots on the ground." The Tobacco Control Industry has 'em - local toxocoligists, MDs, smoking cessation "experts," health dep't officials, and of course rep.s from the classic ANTZ orgs (ALA, ACS, etc.).
We can't be at every city or county council hearing. But
they can. Their people are paid (often gov't paid- or funded-) professionals who speak with society's impremateur - ours are (at most) vape store owners and local vapers. Who's going to win? (And who cares if vaping is the most effective smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction strategy ever divised?)
When you add it all up: well-funded junk studies, authoratative pronouncements (even if "fears" and "concerns" are hardly a matter of science), boots on the ground ... we are simply outmatched. So we can try to fight this nonsense in bigger cities and at the state level. But not in hundreds of smaller towns and counties across the country.
That's why it's easier for them at the local level: they have vastly more in the way of resources, and are ahead of us by years in terms of laying the propaganda groundwork.
You can't expect to beat a well-paid, well-prepared professional army with a bunch of part-time amateurs.
I'm sorry to say this, but I think the only reasons why vaping isn't outlawed in more places are (1) BT is putting money and resources into the fight (they're our only allies with deep pockets); (2) the whole thing has become absurdly politicized, so many GOP politicians are automatically opposing what they think Dems are for; and (3) our opponents often overreach, and ask for blanket legislation that simply defines vaping as smoking for all purposes in state law (as opposed to accepting simple minor sales bans, or even modest extensions to clean air acts) - thus causing legislative gridlock.
