If a proposed bill passes through the County Council this winter, Montgomery County might start treating e-cigarettes the same way they treat normal cigarettes.

The county is considering banning the use of e-cigs in any places where cigarettes are already banned, such as schools and retail stores. E-cigs, which are conventionally used to help cigarette smokers ease off smoking habits, produce clouds of vapor that disappear within seconds as opposed to smoke. Many e-cigs contain nicotine, which allows smokers to relieve their addiction without smoking much more harmful cigarettes.

Councilwoman Nancy Floreen proposed a bill to ban e-cigs in late November, and the County Council is currently discussing it.

The proposed ban comes in the wake of a crackdown on e-cigs that began last spring, when the FDA first proposed regulations on e-cigs. These suggested regulations included the banning of sales to minors and the elimination of free e-cig samples. There were no regulations on e-cigs before the FDA regulations, and little is known about what is actually in them besides vapor and nicotine.

“As elected officials, we at the County Council are stewards for public health,” Floreen said in her blog. “It is our responsibility to put some protections in place.”

One junior boy called e-cigs a “popular fad,” but no one seems to know what exactly they’re smoking.

“No one really knows what is in an e-cig and what long term effects an e-cig has on someone,” the junior boy said.

The proposed ban comes at the behest of the World Health Organization (WHO), which has advocated for legislation to “end the use of e-cigarettes indoors in public and workplaces” and for companies to stop advertising to children. To try to appeal to younger customers, some companies advertise sweet flavored or bright colored e-cigs. Floreen’s bill follows the WHO’s request, as she plans on limiting marketing to young people.

It remains to be seen if the regulations will have any effect on e-cig use.

“Banning e-cigs in certain places won’t really stop people from smoking,” the junior boy said. “People will just smoke them somewhere else.”

Click here to read the Black & White’s earlier story about e-cigarettes.