Saugus board talks e-cigarettes

SAUGUS – The Saugus Board of Health met with Joyce Redford of the North Shore/Cape Ann Tobacco Alcohol Policy Program Monday night to discuss regulating electronic cigarettes.The Board is looking into adding language to its tobacco policy that would put e-cigarettes in the same class as regular tobacco products, which would prevent them from being sold to minors and from being used in the workplace.According to Redford, e-cigarettes are battery-operated and designed to deliver nicotine to the user in the form of vapor which is inhaled like a regular cigarette. E-cigarettes are marketed as an alternative to cigarettes, but according to Redford, they?re not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.?We don?t know what?s in the vapor from a health standpoint,” said Redford. “We know there?s definitely nicotine in the liquid. The biggest concern is that some people claim they?re a nicotine replacement product.”Redford and the Board agreed that she would take legal wording used from other cities and towns in the state regulating e-cigarettes and insert them in the town?s current regulation, and return for a vote at a later date.Redford said it?s hard for her organization to keep up with all the new products that hit the market, which why she?s trying to promote the current regulations.?Every six months you go out there and there?s some new product in the retail environment that Boards of Health couldn?t have anticipated when they adopted regulation in 2003 or 2005,” said Redford. “We do our best to stay ahead of the curve. Unfortunately it?s going to be a situation where in some cases we have to react to what the market is doing.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter @MattTempesta.