For the past decade, if not longer, smoking bans have spread like wildfire across the country. But now that state and local officials have fought to protect individuals from the effects of secondhand smoke, many are turning an eye toward other tobacco products.

For example, in mid-September, the Colorado Department of Health asked R.J. Reynolds to discontinue the sale of its dissolvable tobacco product lines — Camel Strips, Camel Sticks and Camel Orbs — in the state. Without action by Colorado state lawmakers, the request has no teeth, but it could be viewed as a warning shot to adult tobacco users and tobacco companies alike that cigarettes were just the beginning.

Just ask the electronic cigarette industry. After successfully fighting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over how the products will be regulated, the industry is now facing increased opposition from municipalities and agencies from every corner of the country.

Most recently, the Boston Public Health Commission's Board of Health took up the issue when it unanimously approved rules governing the sale and regulation of eCigs. Retailers are now required to obtain a permit to sell the products and are prohibited from selling it to minors. In addition, the rules ban the use of eCigs in the workplace. The commissioners took a final vote on the rules Dec. 1.

Also, in September, the Obama administration proposed a ban on the use of electronic cigarettes on airlines because of concerns they may be harmful. The proposed ban would apply to all domestic flights, as well as scheduled flights of U.S. carriers and foreign carriers traveling to and from the United States.

Furthermore, San Francisco officials addressed the issue of eCigs in the spring, contending that if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck — I mean, if it looks like a cigarette and feels like a cigarette — it should be included in the City by the Bay's smoking ordinance.

Is this big government gone awry, or is it just lack of information?

Ray Story, CEO of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association and owner of Smoking Everywhere, believes it is the latter. "It's pretty ignorant, to be honest with you," he told Convenience Store News. He said the ingredients found in an electronic cigarette have been around since the 1930s, so why the push to ban them now? In fact, he added, the FDA has requested for people to contact them if they have suffered any negative effects from eCigs. To his knowledge, no one has come forward.

Story is not against regulation or taxation, but it must be fair, he said, adding that "if you want to become a regulated, respected business, you need to take the good with the bad."

On April 25, the FDA announced it was going to do just that. As of press time, eight months later, the industry was still awaiting direction from the agency.