At the recent public hearing, the Indiana's legislator engaged in a heated debate about how to handle the sudden spike in the use of electronic cigarettes and the surging smoking rates. The legislators argued over the best method to discourage smoking.
They claim that the new study shows that about 23 percent of the adults in Indian are smokers, a number which is much higher than the national average. Some legislators want to see the current no-smoking law extended to cover casinos, bars and other adults' only places. However, other legislators argued that banning smoking in these areas would further drain the economy, while others suggested that the best method would be increasing taxes on tobacco cigarettes. So, the smoking habit could be less accessible to teens and more expensive.
The main argument centered one electronic cigarette as to whether they should be part of the current taxation and the smoking prohibition amendment proposal. Those who supported the electronic cigarette use were arguing that they are the smarter option when it comes to reducing the smoking rate in the state.
According to the President of the American Vaping Association, Greg Conley, any time a smoker switches to vaping, the public health benefits. Shadi Khoury, a former smoker who kicked his smoking habit two years ago with the help of electronic cigarettes, told lawmakers that electronic cigarettes are the most effective smoking cessation tool available in the market. Khoury argued that instead of increasing the taxes, the state of Indiana should embrace and reward people for switching to vaping.
The major criticism of electronic cigarette was based around its nicotine content. Fortunately, nicotine is not a health risk component in smoking. Tobacco is what kills millions of people and electronic cigarettes are tobacco-free. In fact, equating electronic cigarettes with tobacco cigarettes merely because they contain nicotine lacks common logic. It is like calling pizza a vegetable just because it contains tomatoes. The public should not be the guinea pig.
Now, based on the current scientific evidence available, what should the public do to discourage smoking?