Electronic Cigarettes

In this Tuesday May 3, 2011 picture, Kim Thompson exhales vapor from her e-cigarette outside her new business called “The Vaporium” in Lakewood, Wash. Thompson, a 20-year smoker, opened the business selling electronic cigarettes or personal vaporizers as an alternative to traditional cigarettes in January and says the business is doing well. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is considering a ban on battery-powered electronic cigarettes that deliver nicotine without smoking. The News Tribune reports that regulations proposed Wednesday, May 4, 2011 would ban e-smoking _ or “vaping” _ in the same public places where the use of real cigarettes and cigars are prohibited by state law. King County adopted such a ban in January. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Dean J. Koepfler)

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