"The Department is proposing in this NPRM to explicitly ban the use of electronic cigarettes on aircraft as there has been some confusion over whether the Department's ban on smoking of tobacco products includes a ban on use of electronic cigarettes. We see no reason to treat electronic cigarettes any differently than traditional cigarettes. The purpose behind the statutory ban on smoking aboard aircraft and the regulatory ban in part 252 on smoking tobacco products was to improve air quality within the aircraft, reduce the risk of adverse health effects on passengers and crewmembers, and enhance aviation safety and passenger comfort. Electronic cigarettes are generally designed to look like and to be used in the same manner as conventional cigarettes. Although a vapor, rather than smoke, is produced, the products require an inhalation and exhalation similar to smoking cigarettes. We are unaware of sufficient studies on the health impact on third parties from these vapors to conclude that they would not negatively impact the air quality within the aircraft and/or increase the risk of adverse health effects on passengers and crewmembers.

Each e-cigarette consists of three parts: The replaceable cartridge, which most often contains liquid nicotine but may contain other chemicals, the atomizer or heating element, and the battery and electronics. See Sottera Inc. v. Food & Drug Administration, 627 F.3d 891, 893 (D.C. Cir 2010). Theatomizer or heating element vaporizes the liquid inside the cartridge, and the battery and electronics power the atomizer and monitor air flow. Id. When the user inhales, the electronics detect the air flow and activate the atomizer, the liquid nicotine is vaporized, and the user inhales the vapor. Id.

Some electronic cigarette companies have claimed that their products are safe because they reportedly do not contain carcinogens or tar or produce second-hand smoke, as there is no combustion in their use. According to these arguments, while the vapor looks and feels, and may taste, like smoke produced by burning traditional tobacco products, its chemistry differs from the smoke produced from burning conventional tobacco products. The principal liquid ingredient is propylene glycol, which is widely used as a moistening food additive and an aid to vaporization. However, some research, conducted on non-asthmatic people, has shown that exposure to propylene glycol mist from artificial smoke generators may cause acute ocular and upper airway irritation, and in a few cases people reacted with cough and slight airway obstruction. See G Wieslander, D Norbäck, and T Lindgren, “Experimental exposure to propylene glycol mist in aviation emergency training: Acute ocular and respiratory effects,”Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2001; 58:649-655. Further, in a recent New England Journal of Medicine article, “E-Cigarette or Drug-Delivery Device? Regulating Novel Nicotine Products,” it was noted that the safety of inhaling propylene glycol has not been studied in humans. 365;3: 193-95.

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