Colorado’s Clean Indoor Air Act is almost 10 years old. The law went into effect in July 2006, and made smoking in most businesses, including bars, restaurants and later casinos illegal. However, electronic vaporizing nicotine and cannabis delivery systems like vape pens and e-cigs were not common at the time, so the law did not include these devices. Debate about safety for both the user and people around them continues to rage, as the devices become more popular every year.Secondhand smoke was defined in the CCIA as ìthe complex mixture formed by the escaping smoke of a burning tobacco product.î Since vape pens use heat elements to warm and vaporize oils into a combination of the oil and water vapor without any combustion, the devices don’t fall under the CCIA smoking bans.ìWe have heard from our partners who advocated for the CCIA that there have been conversations about introducing statewide legislation to include e-cigs, but there is nothing imminent for legislation,î said Jill Bednarek, tobacco policy manager at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.Later, state laws clarified e-cigs as a tobacco product. Therefore, they are not allowed to be sold to minors under age 18. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not labeled e-cigs as a smoking cessation device, so vaping is not allowed on school grounds in Colorado.The CCIA allowed municipalities to pass stronger laws and ordinances than the state smoking law. Fourteen communities have passed measures that equate vaping with traditional tobacco and marijuana smoking. Colorado Springs and El Paso County have not passed these measures, so vaping is officially OK in public places. However, individual businesses are allowed to set their own rules.Policy makers see e-cigs and vape pens as an issue both for public health and for the progress of overall tobacco reduction in the last several years. ìWe do see e-cigs as a public health concern for the primary user since it is an unregulated product, and there’s not evidence in the scientific data for its use as a quitting tool,î Bednarek said. ìThere’s indications that youth use is on the rise, and there are no limits on advertising.îThe common assumption among vape pen users is that since there is no direct burning of tobacco or marijuana and rolling papers there is no chance of cancer-causing chemicals being introduced into the vapor. However, the hot temperatures of oil vaporizing pens can turn some of the common additives into hazardous byproducts.ìCheap oil pens have no temperature regulation,î said Dr. Jordan Tishler, a Massachusetts-based doctor who runs http://inhaleMD.com. ìMost cannabis oils are thinned with polyethylene glycol, which is a common food additive, and is harmless at reasonable temperatures. However, above 480 degrees it converts to Acrolene, which is a known carcinogen. So cheap oil pens that can get quite hot, but have no control, may expose the user to nasty stuff. Nicotine pens have this same risk.îBystanders would then be exposed to those same chemicals as they would be with traditional secondhand smoke. ìSome of the studies suggest the e-cloud contains nicotine and other harmful chemicals that we are reintroducing into the air in public places,î Bednarek said.Cigarette smoke results in a major increased risk for gum disease and other nose and mouth diseases. However, there is currently little research available about the impact of e-cig vapor. The National Institutes of Health has dedicated $3 million in 2016 to fund three or four studies on the dental effects of e-cig aerosols. The results of these studies can’t come soon enough, according to dentists who field questions about vape pens from their patients.ìA few years ago, when e-cigarettes were beginning to take off, I removed a wisdom tooth of a patient and advised him not to smoke for a few days while it was healing,î said Dr. Justin Sycamore, a dentist in Thousand Oaks, California. ìHe asked if e-cigs were OK. I had no idea. I did a lot of research and found very little. E-cigarettes are much better but still have the potential for harm, although much smaller. So dentists are hesitant to give the thumbs up for e-cigarettes.îBesides the health impact of the vaporized nicotine or cannabis oil, the devices themselves have other risks. Design defects, improper battery chargers and freak accidents have resulted in some vape pens exploding with dramatic results. In 2015, a nearly $1.9 million verdict found in favor of a woman whose e-cigarette exploded in her car, causing severe burns. According to a Federal Emergency Management Agency report, ìElectronic Cigarette Fires and Explosions,î at least 25 e-cig explosions occurred in the U.S. between 2009 and 2014.As more manufacturers and new designs enter the market with the increased popularity of vaping, users need to be aware of the potential hazards of the devices themselves and the white vapor clouds they’re inhaling. However, some former smokers will still find the pens useful in their gradual quest to quit.ìMy opinion is that you’re better off with neither but if you have to choose one, then you’re much better off with e-cigarettes,î Sycamore said.
