NJ Rep. Frank Pallone: Ban E-Cigarettes On Flights
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A New Jersey congressman is calling for a law banning the use of electronic cigarettes on flights in the United States.
Rep. Frank Pallone has sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx urging him to finalize a rule officially banning the smoking devices on planes.
"The problems are the same really with cigarettes and cigars," Pallone, a Democrat, told WCBS 880's Jim Smith. "I mean, there's no reason to believe that e-cigarettes are less dangerous."
Pallone admits most airlines probably won't let travelers puff away on an e-cigarettes now. But he says it should be federal policy, not left up to the airlines.
He said a ban was proposed nearly four years ago but no action has been taken to finalize it. At the time, the Department of Transportation said it interprets the original 1987 smoking ban to include the new devices.
Pallone said he wants the ban explicitly laid out.