Mercer County Calls for Bans on E-Cigs

Mercer County is currently in a debate on whether or not to include electronic cigarettes in the Mercer County Indoor Clean Air Ordinance. The Mercer County Board of Health discussion in early February was dominated by e-cigarettes. Tony Colosi, co-owner of The Sly Fox Shoppe in Princeton, was in attendance at the meeting, and moved for e-cigarettes to be exempt from the ordinance.

Colosi had prepared a handbook of his research for the meeting. It included various letters and journals from multiple sources such as the seventeenth Surgeon General of the United States, the American Association of Public Health Physicians, the Tobacco Control Task Force, and an excerpt from the New England Medical Journal. These various sources provided by Colosi addressed the benefits of e-cigarettes and the use of these products as a nicotine replacement therapy.

For instance, the excerpt from the New England Medical Journal titled ‘The FDA, E-Cigarettes, and the Demise of Combusted Tobacco,’ authored by Nathan K. Cobb, M.D. and David B. Abrams, Ph.D., argues, “[…] published evaluations of some products suggest that e-cigarettes can be manufactured with levels of both efficacy and safety similar to those of NRT [nicotine replacement therapy] products, resulting in profoundly reduced risk as compared with cigarettes.”

The article continues to say, “[E-cigarettes] use could shift smokers permanently away from lethal cigarettes to cleaner, safer nicotine products, saving innumerable lives.”

However, because e-cigarettes are a fairly new phenomenon, many studies are inconclusive on how much of a risk e-cigarettes pose, especially in the long term. Colosi says that the “studies that have been done so far are, pretty much, conclusive that [e-cigarette vapor] is not even close to as harmful as cigarette smoke.” He continued to say that not all of the studies out there are non-bias, peer reviewed studies, and that the FDA has yet to make an official ruling.

Colosi hopes that the Mercer County Board of Health will not make a comprehensive ban on vaping. This would make it illegal for those who use e-cigarettes to vape in bars, gambling places, and parks during festivals. “If they do [make a comprehensive ban] it will be detrimental to us,” he says.

He has also requested that vape shops be excluded from the Indoor Clean Air Ordinace because customers would be unable to test flavors when making a purchase. In quitting the tobacco cigarette and moving to e-cigarettes, Colosi says it is key to have the right battery and e-liquid. If the customers’ ability to taste their e-liquid before purchasing is compromised then their chances of quitting the tobacco cigarette could be unsuccessful.

Some say, however, that equipment and e-liquid did not play that big of a role in quitting the tobacco cigarette. Former smoker Mike Atwell says, “I think the major factor was that I wanted to quit. The equipment when I started made no difference.” On the contrary, vaping did make a huge difference in Atwell’s life. “Vaping helped me quit smoking. It's that simple. There [was] no ‘it helped me this much.’ It just worked. I was a 20 year smoker. [I] tried everything from the patch to Chantix, and [I] even tried being hypnotized. Nothing worked. I walked into the vape shop with a half a pack of smokes. When I bought my first vape [I] walked out and haven't touched [cigarettes] since.”

The Mercer County Board of Health will meet again in April. Colosi must present an expert witness to defend his case. He says he wants to work with the health department in order to pursue the proper course of action.

The Mercer County Health Department did not respond to requests for a comment.

A few surrounding counties, such as Summers and Monroe, have already included regulations for e-cigarettes in their indoor air policies. It is unclear, as of yet, what actions Mercer County will take in regard to this issue.