On Tuesday the New York City based smokers’ group, Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, filed a lawsuit against the ban on e-cigarettes in restaurants and bars.

The Federal regulators are trying their best to severely limit the use of e-cigarettes. In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration attempted to block their sale altogether, but a federal judge intervened. On April 24, 2014, the FDA proposed regulations that would require e-cigarettes manufacturers to obtain the agency’s approval for each of their products, a process that could cost over a million dollars and would likely drive the small vendors out of business. This would dramatically curtail the variety of e-cigarettes products on the market, thus limiting the options of smokers looking for an alternative to regular cigarettes.

New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, along with other cities, states, and counties have passed laws banning the use of e-cigarettes in offices, bars, parks, and other public places. These laws make little sense because “there are no toxins in so-called second-hand vapor.” E-cigarettes generally emit no odor, and the vapor they give off rapidly dissipates.

For more on this topic watch the Reason TV short titled Thank You for Vaping: Libertarian vs. New York City’s E-Cig Ban, originally relased on May 2, 2014.

