Davis Considers Adding E-Cigarettes To Smoking Ban

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Reed Saxon / AP

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to come out with regulations for electronic cigarettes. And Davis may soon join a growing group of cities writing their own regulations.

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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Tonight, the Davis City Council will discuss a proposal that would ban smoking e-cigarettes in public places.

Mayor Joe Krovoza says the idea is to add e-cigarettes to the city's existing anti-smoking in public places ordinance.

"In the absence of federal attention to this cities are left to deal with it and we certainly will here in Davis, we never shy from a big issue and here we go again tonight," says Krovoza.

Keri Hess is with the Yolo County Health Department, which supports a ban. Hess points out that the liquid vapor e-cigarettes emit contains chemicals that can be carcinogenic.

"Scientists have also found metals in the liquid, the most abundant has been tin,"says Hess. "So none of those things you should be really putting in your body."

Fans of e-cigarettes say the devices are less harmful than the real thing.

Meanwhile, Sacramento city officials say they currently have no plans to consider banning e-cigarettes.