Should e-smoking be banned in public?

Editor's note: A revised anti-smoking ban took effect on Jan 1 in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, prohibiting e-cigarette use in the same places where smoking is not allowed. Described as the most severe move ever in tobacco control, the regulation stipulates that offenders are required to pay a fine of up to 20,000 yuan. While the use of e-cigarettes is not regulated in many other cities, should they follow suit?

chinaright (US)

Smoking of all kinds be it electronic or not should be banned. Smoking is a silent killer which not just kills the smokers but also the people around the smokers.

Researchers found e-cigarettes have a signature of harm in the lung that is both similar and unique, which challenges the concept that switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes is a healthier alternative.[Photo by Chen Ming/Asianewsphoto]

pnp (China)

The e-cigarette is a con; not only does it not help smokers to quit, it encourages young and old nonsmokers to start smoking, and get hooked on it, and eventually they graduate to smoking the real thing! And the smoke from e-cigarettes is just as bad for the health of nonsmokers exposed to that secondhand smoke!

Nonsmokers must be protected from secondhand smoke from e-cigarettes! 
Like cigarettes, e-cigarettes must be included in the ban on smoking in public!

An online shop displays electronic cigarettes for sale. Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily

cmknight (Canada)

Electronic cigarettes are a viable alternative to smoking. I picked one up two years ago, and have not had a tobacco cigarette (or any other kind of cigarette) since that day. As a matter of fact, I still have four packages of Zhongnanhai sitting on my shelf to remind me of that vile, filthy habit that I started over 40 years ago.

ceciliazhang (China)

E-cigars might be the better alternative to cigarettes, but they still are very closely related to cigarettes. E- cigars not only cause dangerous side effects but also harm the people around you through secondhand smoking.

A woman smokes a Juul e-cigarette in New York, US, Sept 27, 2018. [Photo/Agencies]

Leo (UK)

While there is still much debate on the risks and benefits of the e-cigarettes, there should be the same restrictions on e-cigarettes as regular cigarettes - especially in regard to smoke-free areas.

Pro-electronic cigarettes a

ctivists use their e-cigarettes before attending a city council meeting that will address the legality of indoor use of the device in New York December 19, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Chris (US)

People use e-cigarettes to curb smoking. It's an alternative for them to break the habit. I'm all for banning their sales to minors. Nicotine is addictive, but if they're gonna smoke, aren't e-cigs better than real cigs?

Vapor rights activists exhale vapor from their e-cigarette before attending a city council meeting that will address the legality of indoor use of the devices in New York December 19, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]