Monthly Archives: "December 2016"

E-cigs are a growing alternative to smoking tobacco. By Scott Probst | December 28th, 2016 Some municipalities in Central Illinois are moving to regulate them similarly to tobacco cigarettes. Health promotions specialist for the McLean County Health Department Sarah Philos told us, “It would really be wonderful if it could expand to just everywhere.” The City of Bloomington banned e-cigarettes in public buildings in August. The idea has since caught the attention of the McLean County Health Department. Philos explains, “What it is doing is really protecting the people thatRead More

Bob Oesterling opened his tobacco store, Smoke 4 Less, in Clarion in 2010. By Paula Reed | December 22nd, 2016 Two years later, he started selling vaping products and opened a vaping wholesaler in 2013. In that time, he says, he has had hundreds of customers quit using tobacco and start vaping. And now, with the implementation of Pennsylvania’s Tobacco Products Act scheduled to take effect Dec. 30, he fears his entire business will go under. The act puts a 40 percent tax on e-cigarettes, the liquid used inside them,Read More

A local business is losing thousands of dollars every month and being forced to turn customers away- By Bree Burkitt | December 20th, 2016 while they work to follow a recently approved city ordinance that places additional regulations on shops selling tobacco and vape products. Big Hit Vapors & MMA Apparel owners Walter and Cindy Cluett saw their customer base grow rapidly ever since they opened their door two years ago. The store initially received a mixed retail use permit, which requires that less than 35 percent of the total profitRead More

Following reports of e-cigarettes exploding, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) is calling on the federal government to look into why it is happening. By Avery Powell | December 20th, 2016 However, local vape store owners say the risk is still low. “The fact that there have been a series of explosions, it’s not just a one-off, means we have to do a lot more,” said Schumer. Schumer says the devices are “a ticking time bomb,” citing an Associated Press story saying the FDA identified about 66 explosions in 2015 andRead More

Omaha, Neb- Local Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced Sunday a new effort to recall E-Cigarettes. By Kristyna Engdahl | December 19th, 2016 Schumer calls the devices “ticking time bombs”, after reports of explosions injuring users. But one man, who had an e-cig battery blow up in his face in October, 2015, said he disagrees with the idea. “Vapes are something I stay away from,” Mike Rose, a local college student, said, “but I don’t have a negative view on them.” The force of the explosion knocked out Rose’sRead More

New York Senator Chuck Schumer is declaring war on e-cigarettes. By Taylor Millard | December 18th, 2016 Schumer held a news conference on Sunday where he decried e-cigarettes, claiming they were “ticking time bombs” and suggested there should be a recall. Via Associated Press: Schumer cited a recent Associated Press story saying the FDA identified about 66 explosions in 2015 and early 2016 after recording 92 explosions from 2009 to September 2015. He said he wants the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration toRead More

The U.S. surgeon general is calling e-cigarettes an emerging public health threat to the nation’s youth. By Kxan.com | December 18th, 2016 In a report released Thursday, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy acknowledged a need for more research into the health effects of “vaping,” but said e-cigarettes aren’t harmless and too many teens are using them. “My concern is e-cigarettes have the potential to create a whole new generation of kids who are addicted to nicotine,” Murthy told The Associated Press. “If that leads to the use of other tobacco-related products,Read More

During his final weeks as an Indiana lawmaker, Sen. Brent Steele voted in favor of a controversial vaping bill- By Tony Cook | December 15th, 2016 that allowed only a handful of companies to make e-liquid sold in Indiana. Now, the recently retired lawmaker has taken a new job representing those companies. Steele has been hired as executive director of the Vapor Association of Indiana, which represents the few companies licensed to manufacture electronic smoking device liquid under Indiana’s stringent new law. The Bedford Republican is scheduled to start the job Jan.Read More

INDIANAPOLIS – A plane on its way to Indianapolis made an emergency landing in Little Rock Thursday after a passenger’s electronic cigarette caught fire. By Victoria T. Davis & Paris Lewbel | December 15th, 2016 “I started saying a prayer. That’s all I could do and believe that we were going to land… and we made it,” said Cindy Nelson, a passenger on the flight. The plane, carrying 137 passengers, departed from Dallas around 12:50 p.m. and made the landing in Little Rock about an hour later, according to officialsRead More

More and more people are turning to e-cigarettes as an alternative to traditional cigarettes. By Bruce Brown | December 14th, 2016 While inhaling anything into your lungs is never 100% safe, e-cigarettes are vastly more healthy for you if you do smoke, and may be a way to ween yourself off of traditional cigarettes if you want to quit smoking altogether. Using an e-cigarette — vaping, as it is widely known — has increased in popularity over the past decade due to its potential of helping people quit smoking, orRead More