E-cigs allowed under the Bridges of Madison County but not indoors

Don’t let the Lexington-Herald Leader headline, “Madison County health board bans electronic cigarettes,” fool you. The Madison County Board of Health has actually added electronic cigarettes to their list of indoor smoking restrictions, perhaps due to an FDA warning in 2009 cautioning that the nicotine-delivery devices supposedly contain “toxic” ingredients. The amendment will go into effect in 60 days.

“Their health board clearly does not understand what e-cigarettes really are,” says ACSH’s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. “They do not pose a threat and, therefore, should not be banned indoors, outdoors or anywhere else for that matter.” And ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross adds, “The FDA’s bizarre e-cigarette ‘evaluation,’ allegedly finding toxins and carcinogens, was completely bogus. Former FDA official Dr. Josh Sharfstein didn’t bother to check the approved nicotine-replacement products, which contain those same substances but at even higher levels.”