But one in five middle school students who said they had tried e-cigarettes reported never having smoked a conventional cigarette, raising fears that e-cigarettes, at least for some, could become a gateway.
From a public health perspective, e-cigarettes raise two questions: How harmful are they?
PAGE B1 CONGRESS TO PRESS TOBACCO INDUSTRY The incoming Congress will move aggressively against the tobacco industry by regulating cigarettes, raising per-pack sales taxes and ratifying an international anti-tobacco treaty.
The new Congress is expected to move aggressively against the tobacco industry, by increasing federal regulation of cigarettes, raising taxes on tobacco products and approving an international tobacco control treaty.
The new Congress plans to move aggressively against the tobacco industry in coming months by regulating cigarettes, raising per-pack sales taxes and ratifying an international antitobacco treaty, according to aides for key lawmakers and experts who expect the Obama administration to break a logjam on smoking issues.
Gov. James E. McGreevey and his Democratic allies in the Legislature faced little public outcry for imposing a 35centt increase on the tax on cigarettes, raising the total levy to $2.40 per pack, the second highest in the nation behind Rhode Island.
"E-cigarettes raise many questions for which there are few answers," Dr. Nancy Rigotti, director of the Tobacco Research and Treatment Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, wrote in an editorial that accompanied the study.
He said one man was held at BTC after he couldn't produce identification to buy a pack of cigarettes, raising the suspicions of a government agent in line next to him.
That's partly because within 24 hours of the state's 10-cent cigarette tax cut, cigarette manufacturers raised their own prices by 10 cents.
He informed the students the state's cigarette tax raised more money than corporate taxes.
The price of tobacco has surged 30percentt over the last year as cigarette manufacturers raised prices ahead of a new federal tax on tobacco products.
