Legislative Health Panels To Study E-Cigs, Vaping

A joint House and Senate hearing on the use of electronic cigarettes and vapor devices is scheduled at the state Capitol.

Members of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services and the House Committee on Public Health will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the Senate chamber.

Legislators will look at the benefits of the devices that use a heating element to convert nicotine into an inhalable water vapor as a way to help people quit smoking.

Among those scheduled to speak are advocates for the e-cigarettes and vapor devices, as well as public health officials.

Legislators last year attempted to place restrictions on the sale of these devices and how they are taxed, but the measure drew fierce resistance from the growing vapor industry.

12/23/2014 Related Story: Oklahoma Governor Signs E-Cigarette Ban On State Property