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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Will the federal government get involved in regulating e-cigarettes?

Smoking is bad, and no one really contests the "overbearing" role of government in policing where and when people can smoke their cigarettes.

But along came e-cigarettes, and people began asking serious questions: are they dangerous to one's health to be near one? Can they producing second-hand vapor that's harmful?  What about their impact on the health of teens or adults?

Which is the context for why attorneys general from 40 states this week asked Food and Drug Administration  to restrict the advertising, ingredients and sale of electronic cigarettes to youths.

The call for action comes less than three weeks after a government survey showed the percentage of high-school students who have tried e-cigarettes —which turn nicotine-laced liquid into vapor—rose to 10 percent last year from 4.7 percent two years ago.

As a recent WSJ.com story noted: "The battery-powered devices aren't regulated by federal authorities, but the FDA is aiming to propose regulations by Oct. 31 for the small but fast-growing alternative to traditional cigarettes. Federal rules prohibit the sale of cigarettes to anyone under 18 and more than two dozen



The Spokesman-Review business team follows economic development in Spokane and the Inland Northwest.