The US Department of Transportation is proposing an in-flight ban on a mobile electronic device - e-cigarettes.
Electronic cigarettes produce a mist designed to give the user the sensation of smoking a cigarette or stogie without all the harmful stuff such as nicotine.
The DOT is seeking to ban e-cigarettes on scheduled domestic and foreign flights and is soliciting public comments on the rule change.
In addition, the agency is seeking to outlaw all cigarettes, including electronics ones, on U.S. carriers’ charter flights and those operated by foreign carriers with aircraft featuring 19 or more seats.
The DOT raises a number of health concerns about electronic cigarettes, including:
"The principal liquid ingredient is propylene glycol, which is widely used as a moistening food additive and an aid to vaporization.
"However, some research, conducted on non-asthmatic people, has shown that exposure to propylene glycol mist from artificial smoke generators may cause acute ocular and upper airway irritation, and in a few cases people reacted with cough and slight airway obstruction."
Health experts claim not enough is known about electronic cigarettes and the possibility that the vapors they emit may be toxic.
NB: More information from the DOT.