On Wednesday, state Sen. Bill Wielechowski sent out a press release saying during the next legislative session he would introduce a bill curbing sales of increasingly popular electronic cigarettes -- better known as e-cigarettes -- to minors.
The only problem? The vast majority of electronic cigarettes contain nicotine. And under current Alaska law, tobacco or nicotine sales to anyone under the age of 19 are already illegal.
"We dropped the ball," Wielechowski, a Democrat who represents East Anchorage, said later, adding that the legislation banning the sales to minors will not be introduced.
But Wielechowski is not the first person to be confused by slow yet steady introduction of e-cigarettes into the marketplace. Across the country, cities and states are grappling with how to deal with the devices, which at times have been marketed both as a tobacco cessation tool and toward young people. Even the Food and Drug Administration isn't quite sure what to do with the devices. The federal agency at this time has not asserted its control over regulating the products.
"We know more about what's in a can of dog food than in an e-cigarette," said Carrie Nyssen, regional director of advocacy for the American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific.
Trying to figure out the science
Over the last decade, e-cigarettes have slowly gained in popularity. Now they're mass marketed, with sleek television and print ads, and can be purchased almost any place tobacco products are sold.
With their rise in popularity there's also been scrutiny. Over the years, questions have emerged over whether to regulate the e-cigarettes as tobacco or drug delivery devices. While the FDA has concluded the devices are tobacco products, it hasn't stepped in to regulate their contents.
"The science is just starting to come out about what's in the e-cigarette territory," said Alison Kulas, acting program manager for Alaska's Tobacco Prevention and Control Program. "It's new territory for everyone. We're trying to catch up."
Generally, the devices use a battery to create a vapor that's inhaled by the user. What's in that vapor is the big question. Even the World Heath Organization notes that the safety of what's in e-cigarettes has not been scientifically tested. The organization has strongly advised consumers not to use the products.
Young users on the rise
Kulas noted that e-cigarette manufacturers are taking the same tactics formerly seen with tobacco advertising later found to be deceptive -- everything from celebrity endorsements and event sponsorships to cartoons and sexy magazine ads. Additionally, many e-cigarettes come in flavors geared toward adolescents -- bubble gum, cherry, cotton candy.
That sort of marketing seems to have had an effect. A November report from the Centers for Disease Control said the products are quickly gaining popularity among middle and high school-aged students. In 2012, 1.1 percent of middle schoolers had tried e-cigarettes, up from 0.6 percent in 2011; the numbers increased from 1.5 to 2.8 percent for high schoolers.
Kulas said the state doesn't have any firm numbers on what electronic cigarette use looks like in Alaska simply because they've only recently started polling people about it.
"It's something that we're really watching closely," she said.
With interest ramping up in a statewide smoking ban, there is hope that e-cigarette use will be addressed in any language brought forward.
Kulas said that newer smoking bans -- like the one passed in Palmer last year -- also bans smoking e-cigarettes in public places. But in Anchorage, Alaska's largest city and home to more than half of the state's population, smoking e-cigarettes in public places is perfectly legal. Anchorage's smoking ban applies specifically to banning second-hand smoke. Since the devices produce vapor, not smoke, they are not regulated under the Anchorage law.