Applaud Iowa City Council for new ordinance

To the editor:

The editorial in opposition to the Iowa City ordinance that regulates the use of e-cigarettes in public places could have been written by the tobacco industry ('A rush without adequate research,” July 24). The mantra of 'we don't know if this product is harmful” hearkens back to the 1960s when tobacco companies made the same claims about cigarettes (but knew full well how lethal they were!). As we all subsequently learned, cigarettes kill people, and countless people died while this country waited for someone to disprove the claims of tobacco companies. A well-established body of refereed research defining the health risks of e-cigarettes already exists.

That same research also raises doubts as to whether e-cigarettes assist smokers in quitting and demonstrates that bystanders subjected to secondhand vapor are exposed to levels of nicotine that exceed that from secondhand smoke. I applaud the Iowa City Council in taking a proactive step to protect the health of its citizens. Our history with smoking would suggest that if 'caution” on this issue is to be exercised, it should be based on the assumption that e-cigarettes are harmful, so that we do not repeat the errors of the past.

Gary Streit

Cedar Rapids