Posted on 08/04/2003 6:34:36 AM PDT by CSM
DOVER - Health advocates and government officials have begun discussing what can be done about the herbal cigarettes not restricted by the state's indoor smoking ban.
The Clean Indoor Air Act forbids only the smoking of tobacco products in most indoor public places. Herbal cigarettes, such as the Ecstacy brand, contain substances such as catnip and spearmint, but have no tobacco.
A Smyrna bar recently had its fine for violating the smoking ban reversed after the owner argued his customers could have been smoking herbal cigarettes, which are sold in the establishment.
Karen Murtha, a spokeswoman for the anti-smoking IMPACT Coalition, said herbal cigarettes contain several of the same dangerous chemicals as their tobacco counterparts, including tar and carbon monoxide.
"They are not safe and not healthy," Ms. Murtha said of the herbal cigarettes.
"There is no such thing as a safe cigarette."
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, who championed legislation instituting the ban, said her support for efforts to regulate the herbal cigarettes would depend on whether data indicates the items are harmful.
"I have to see if what is in those cigarettes poses a danger," Gov. Minner said.
"It is all about health."
Michael Dore, secretary of the Delaware United Smokers Association, said the herbal cigarettes actually help nicotine-addicted individuals kick their habit. Ecstacy cigarettes, he said, satisfy smokers' urges for the feel of a cigarette but do not contain nicotine.
"We have had some success with people reducing their tobacco consumption by using these herbal cigarettes," Mr. Dore said.
"We have also had people quit completely."
Rep. Deborah D. Hudson, R-Wilmington, sponsored the bill last year that created the smoking ban. She said that a bill to include herbal cigarettes in the smoking ban or otherwise regulate the herbal cigarettes could be forthcoming when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.
"We certainly will consider doing something in January," Rep. Hudson said.
"These cigarettes are harmful to the people smoking them and the people breathing in the secondhand smoke."
Frank Infante, who owns Bull Dozer's Saloon, the Smyrna bar that beat the smoking ban fine, said studies similar to the ones conducted on tobacco cigarettes should be performed before the government makes its decisions.
Mr. Infante said herbal cigarettes do not have some of the harmful chemicals, such as formaldehyde, that traditional cigarettes contain. He added that steps to regulate herbal cigarettes would represent further government encroachment into individual rights.
"They need to run a five-year study before they regulate herbal cigarettes," said Mr. Infante, president of the smokers' association.
"With Minner and Hudson and the rest of them, this is all an ego trip. They are control freaks. They want to control every aspect of peoples' lives."
Mr. Dore, who said he supports smokers' rights but does not advocate smoking, said if health officials want to completely protect people from carbon monoxide, a series of drastic steps would have to be taken.
"Next we will be banning candles, incense and fires in your fireplace," Mr. Dore said. "This is insane."
Joe Rogalsky can be reached at 741-8226 or jrogalsky@newszap.com
There you go. One bar I (a smoker) have trouble with makes fresh popcorn from less than fresh oil. Cuts the eyes and throat outta me. But I go back because the crabs are good and the 42" flat screens have all the football games on at once on Sunday. Choice!
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