Will e-cigs send tobacco bans up in smoke?

Smoking, in the form of electronic cigarettes, is making a public comeback in Rochester, six years after Minnesota banned traditional smoking in restaurants, bars and other places. "I've been using them for about 12 weeks. The majority of bars have been very friendly about it. I think they embrace it. Smoking… was taken away from them," said Brad Peterson, who uses his e-cigarette while working at Top Shots bar and other while out in Rochester. "It gives their customers new ways to, in essence, smoke again." The battery-powered devices atomize liquid nicotine and flavoring and expel a "smoke" that is actually water vapor. That's why many describe their use as "vaping" instead of smoking. They been around for years, but are suddenly surging in popularity with celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio using them in public. The devices come in a wide variety of flashy styles and colors. Some look like a regular cigarette, cigar or even pipe, while others have a shiny and high-tech appearance. "Another great thing is that you don't smell.

My kids love it because I can smoke in the house,says J.R. Lewis, a friend of Peterson's. "And it's way cheaper." Peterson estimates his two pack-a-day habit would cost about $50 more a week than using the e-cigarettes to breathe fruit-flavored nicotine. Users can buy them at tobacco shops, convenience stores, Walmart, Walgreens and even at two Rochester e-cigarette outlets — Vapin Midwest and the Vape It Zone. Despite unanswered questions about the effects on users and bystanders, the Minnesota Department of Health has ruled that e-cigarettes are not covered by the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act because they don't produce "smoke" and they don't contain tobacco or any other plant product intended for inhalation. That means use of the devices is not covered by any Minnesota rules other than the state requirement of that must be at least 18-years-old to buy a product that contains nicotine.

This is a case of technology providing smokers a legal way of circumventing rules that have severely restricted where they they can light up, as well as avoiding Minnesota's new Cigarette and Tobacco Excise Taxes, which added to the cost of a pack cigarettes in July. And the issue is far from settled, leaving a patchwork of rules regulating use in local businesses. People can not vape at Mayo Clinic or Apache Mall, but can light one up in Newt's and other restaurants, as well as in many bowling alleys.