You may have seen someone firing one up in a restaurant – where you thought smoking was banned. Maybe a friend or relative uses them. Or maybe you have tried to kick a cigarette habit by using one: an electronic cigarette.
These are the battery-powered inhalers that are loaded with a replaceable or refillable cartridge of liquid “juice” that can contain nicotine, solvents and flavors. Puffing on an e-cig is called “vaping.” And there’s little doubt vaping is here to stay.
Sales of e-cigs have grown from around $500 million in 2012 to around $1.5 billion last year.
Right now, there’s no regulation on e-cigs, beyond the FDA telling e-cig makers they may not market their products as a way to quit smoking. And there’s nothing to keep the e-cigs from being sold to minors.
That has ignited debate in Lansing.
Associated Press reporter Emma Fidel has been looking into the state’s efforts to keep e-cigs out of the hands of kids under age 18.
Listen to the full interview above.
