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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

VA Lawmakers Get Busy on E-Cigarette Laws

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Thursday, February 27, 2014   

RICHMOND, Va. - Electronic cigarettes often are advertised as a safer alternative to tobacco cigarettes, and their flashy packaging can appeal to young demographics. Virginia lawmakers have said "yes" to bills this week (House Bill 484 and Senate Bill 96) limiting access by minors and paving the way for e-cigs to be banned in schools.

E-cigarettes provide users with nicotine through a liquid solution that also contains other substances and flavorings. Because they were invented only a decade ago and are not yet regulated, Thomas Glynn with the American Cancer Society said, their safety is unknown.

"Because there are more than 250 e-cigarette companies making e-cigarettes right now, some of them do have contaminants in them, as the CDC has shown, and that's a concern," Glynn said.

A CDC (Centers for Disease and Prevention) survey found that from 2011 to 2012, e-cigarettes doubled in popularity among middle- and high-school students.

Glynn said it is possible that e-cigarettes could be helpful aids for those trying to quit smoking. However, he said, more research and regulation is needed.

"Every time you light a cigarette, you're inhaling more than 7,000 chemicals; 60 of those are carcinogenic. With e-cigarettes, from what we know so far - and I emphasize that - they should be considerably less harmful," he said.

The Food and Drug Administration has proposed a rule that would allow the agency to regulate e-cigarettes as it does tobacco products.

According to Consumer Reports, sales of e-cigarettes totaled $1.5 billion in 2013, nearly triple the previous year.






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