(Long Island, NY) “E-liquids are more dangerous than tobacco because the nicotine in liquid form can be absorbed more quickly even when diluted,” said Senator Kemp Hannon (R-Nassau). “Forms of liquid nicotine need to be reviewed and scrutinized more than other tobacco and nicotine products.”

Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered devices allowing an individual to inhale nicotine, while emitting only vapor which comes from ‘electronic liquids’ or ‘e-liquids’.

E-liquids are a form of liquid nicotine laced with other chemicals and often flavored, and have been found to be harmful to humans if ingested or simply upon contact with an individual’s skin. E-liquids have been found to be harmful and in some instances deadly. The dangers posed by vapors given off by e-liquids are unknown.

“Currently e-liquids, like electronic cigarettes, are not regulated by the federal government,” said Hannon. “Between 2012 and 2013, calls to poison control centers involving e-liquids have increased by 300%, and many of these have been calls involving children under six years old.”

It has been reported that a teaspoon of highly diluted e-liquids can seriously harm or kill a small child. Adults are not immune to the harm caused by e-liquids either. According to the New York Times, an individual died after injecting e-liquids, and another individual in Kentucky was admitted to the hospital with cardiac problems after her e-cigarette broke and the e-liquid was absorbed through her skin.

Due to the potential health risks associated with the liquid found in e-cigarettes, Hannon’s legislation would ban the sale of e-liquids in New York.

“This legislation brings an awareness of the extreme dangers of these products by banning the products from store shelves with the goal of saving people’s lives,” said Hannon.