Policy regulation of electronic cigarettes in public spaces

Policy Position for Electronic Cigarettes in Public Area

Electronic cigarettes, which are commonly known as e-cigarettes, can be described as battery-powered devices that are packed with liquid nicotine. The liquid nicotine is a highly addictive chemical which is dissolved in a combination of propylene glycol and water. These devices are usually designed in a way that they look like real cigarettes and are availed in different colors such as brown filter, cylindrical tube, and red-glowing tip. While an individual who takes e-cigarette does not really smoke, he/she feels a sensation of smoke in the lungs and mouth. Electronic cigarettes have several advantages and disadvantages that have contributed to the numerous controversies they have generated. This has contributed to the emergence of the need for policy makers to establish a position for e-cigarettes in a public area.

Evolution of the Issue

Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that are created to provide flavor, nicotine, and other chemicals. The device then converts the various chemicals into aerosol which is inhaled by users ("Electronic Cigarettes," 2015). Even though many e-cigarettes are produced to resemble traditional cigarettes, some of them look like daily items such as USB devices and pens. These devices have attracted considerable attention in the recent past since users can smoke them virtually anywhere. The significant attention and use is attributed to claims that e-cigarettes can help an individual to quit smoking. This is especially recommended for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and those with challenges related to smoking cessation. Despite these claims, there are several people who are afraid and skeptical regarding them.

The issue of regulations regarding e-cigarettes has emerged because no studies have been conducted about them. As a result of lack of studies, users of electronic cigarettes do not know their potential risks, the quantity of nicotine and other potentially harmful chemicals, and any benefits linked to using the cigarettes. Moreover, it is unclear whether electronic cigarettes may make individuals, especially young people to attempt other tobacco products like traditional cigarettes that are renowned for their diseases and increased likelihood of premature deaths.

Decision makers including policy makers have become concerned with the need to develop policies for smoking e-cigarettes because of the potentially harmful effects of the products. Some of the potentially harmful effects of e-cigarettes include acute pulmonary impacts, lung function effects, and increased addiction to nicotine (Leader, 2014). According to the findings of recent surveys, e-cigarettes do not have significant regulatory factors like proper labeling, safe techniques for disposal, clear guidelines about use, and vital health warnings. These studies also indicated that the use of e-cigarettes could generate toxic exposure to nicotine and other chemicals because e-cigarettes cartridges leak.

Major Policy Makers Involved

The policy makers or major decision makers involved in this issue include legislators, regulators, and interest groups. One of the regulators involved in the issue is the Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products, which is currently accepting comments and opinions from the public regarding e-cigarettes and public health. This regulatory agency has not determined a specific position on the issue but is conducting surveys and research on the issue. The legislators involved have established a health policy team mandated with the task of tracking and evaluating legislation throughout the states to determine trends and emerging issues relating to the impact of e-cigarettes on public health. Some legislators have drafted an act to amend public health law in order to include e-cigarettes within provisions that focus on regulating or limiting smoking in certain public areas (Rosenthal, 2015). The position of interest groups like doctors' groups is that e-cigarettes have negative impacts on public health, which has contributed to their support for prohibition of flavoring and television advertisements of these cigarette products.

Ethical Concerns Relating to the Issue

According to Hepp (2014), e-cigarettes usage has generated significant controversy and ethical concerns regarding their benefits and safety. One of the ethical concerns related to the issue is whether the cigarettes are safe in light of claims that they help people quit smoking conventional cigarettes. The safety of this product is a major ethical concern because of lack of adequate proof and scientific evidence of their impact on public health. The safety of these products is also a major concern since a significant portion of its users have stated that they have never used conventional cigarettes. Secondly, there are concerns regarding the packaging of these products. These concerns emerge from the fact that some electronic cigarettes leak as well as reports of exploding cartons resulting in potentially harmful exposure to nicotine and other chemicals used to create these products.

The third ethical concern relates to the challenges associated with abstinence from tobacco and its related products. Policy makers and public health providers have expressed concerns on the ability of these products to contribute to abstinence from tobacco since they are created using tobacco-related products such as nicotine. Therefore, e-cigarettes may not help in abstinence from tobacco, which implies that they cannot stop people from conventional cigarette smoking. Fourth, e-cigarettes are associated with the ethical concern of lack of regulation, which generates further concerns regarding their safety. The lack of regulation implies that the safety of electronic cigarettes is unknown.

Options for Resolving the Issue

Given the ethical concerns and lack of studies on the benefits and potential health impacts of e-cigarettes, it is increasingly important to identify appropriate regulatory means. The American Heart Foundation has recommended comprehensive e-cigarette regulations in light of the controversies associated with it and the need to ensure safety of the public, particularly users. The need for regulations to address e-cigarettes usage is attributed to the fact that their increased use has generated significant changes in the tobacco landscape and the potential harm of unregulated tobacco products.

One of the recommendations or means of resolving the issue is regulation of electronic cigarettes by the Food and Drug Administration. The regulation would help ensue these products are subjected to proper quality standards that will include disclosure of ingredients (Hepp, 2014). The other aspect of e-cigarettes' regulation by the Food and Drug Administration includes ensuring suitable packaging, distribution, sales, labeling, and advertising of these products. The regulation of these products is a less-costly option for the public and the health sector since most of the requirements will be imposed on producers of e-cigarettes. The resources that will be required in this process are those relating to the development of public health policies. In this case, the regulatory agency will incur costs relating to gathering public comments and opinions about the issue, developing the policy, and implementation of the proposed legislation.

The second probable resolution for the issue is prohibit flavoring and advertisements for these products as suggested by several interest groups, particularly doctors' groups. Reinberg (2015), states that doctors' groups have recommended that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration bans flavorings and television advertisements for electronic cigarettes. The bans are proposed on the premise that the benefits and potential health effects of these products are unknown. Actually, doctors' groups have recommended the bans because of the scarcity of evidence showing that these products help people to quit smoking conventional cigarettes. Moreover, the interest groups propose taxation of these products and prohibiting their usage in indoor and outdoor public areas. This proposal would help resolve the issue by reducing the number of people using the problem and allowing more research to be conducted on their efficacy, especially from a public health perspective. Similar to the first proposal, the bans and taxation would be less costly for the public and policy makers but generate significant financial implications on producers and retailers of the products.

Preferred Position

The most suitable means for resolving the issue is regulation of electronic cigarettes by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The enforcement of FDA regulations will address the numerous concerns associated with the product since they will based on comprehensive research on the various issues related to the product. Similar to regulations for conventional cigarettes, FDA regulations for e-cigarettes will deal with the health issues of these products, labeling, standards for contaminants, quality control, and marketing. Therefore, FDA imposed regulations is the best alternative for addressing issues relating to e-cigarettes.

In conclusion, e-cigarettes usage has increased in the recent past mainly because of claims that they help in quitting smoking conventional cigarettes. The increased usage has continued to occur despite uncertainties about the efficacy of the products and evidence of their benefits and health effects. Given these concerns, there have been numerous controversies surrounding e-cigarettes, especially the lack of regulations on the products. The controversies have generated significant attention from policy makers, regulators, legislators, and various interest groups. These various stakeholders have proposed various initiatives to address the issue including regulations by FDA, banning flavoring and advertisements of the products, and increasing surveillance on their use. The most suitable alternative for dealing with the issue is regulations by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration, which will effectively address the various public health concerns.