It was in the mid-60's that the Surgeon General determined that cigarette smoking was hazardous to your health. I remember reading the warning labels on the packs of smokes my Mom had laying around the house. I asked her why she smoked when she knew it was bad for her, she said quitting was very hard. Emphysema and lung disease finally got her to quit smoking when she died in 2006.

There is now a new alternative to smoking, it's supposed to be safer and in many ways it is. It's called an electronic cigarette or E-Cig. Many of the people around the radio station are using these devices as an alternative to smoking. It seems to be a good choice for them. However there is concern that what is good for the grownup may not be so good for the kids.

Ruston Senator Rick Gallot has filed a bill that will be discussed in committee today concerning banning the sales of E-Cigs to those 18 and under. Gallot says that most retailers don't sell to minors anyway but there is no specific law to keep them from doing so.

His reasoning for wanting legislation in place to ban the sale of E-cigs to minors is as follows,

"There were 400 reported instances of health problems resulting from minors being exposed to this problem. In 2011, I believe it was, it showed about 1.5 % of high school aged students had tried e-cigarettes and the following year the number had increased to 2.8 %,"

Gallot made those comments to The Louisiana Radio Network in a report filed on their website today. His concern is the addictive powers of nicotine. While the E-Cigs may be considered to be safer than traditional smokes, the Senator feels that exposure to such an addictive product an an early age is not in the best interest of children in the state.

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