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Boston health officials today voted to treat electronic cigarettes, known as e-cigarettes, like tobacco products, banning use of the increasingly popular products in the workplace and restricting their sale to adults only.

A man who refused to stop smoking an electronic cigarette forced a Continental Airlines flight to return to Portland Tuesday afternoon. he was held overnight on a federal detainer and formal charges are expected today. The Department of Transportation is considering banning the devices, which are currently legal. However, Continental has a policy banning the use of e-smokes.

The Alameda City Council has approved a new ordinance that aims to protect people from secondhand smoke by effectively banning smoking in all outdoor public places.

Smokers could run afoul of the new law -- most of which will go into effect Jan. 1 -- if they light up at a bus stop, ATM or even on a balcony of a multiunit rental complex.

A Florida vapor spent a few days in the hospital after suffering facial burns when his electronic cigarette spontaneously ejected the battery. Given the current battle e-cigarettes are facing in numerous state legislatures, this could become a serious setback for the industry.

The good news is electronic cigarettes can not be banned as they have just received "legal" classification as a tobacco product.

WASHINGTON — A US law banning the selling of so-called "light" or "mild" cigarettes took effect Tuesday, but some anti-tobacco groups say the makers are sidestepping the rules by using color-coding packaging.

The packaging says, "Your Marlboro Lights pack is changing. But your cigarette stays the same. In the future, ask for 'Marlboro in the gold pack."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to oversee electronic cigarettes marketed for non-therapeutic use as tobacco products after a court ruled the products can’t be regulated as drugs or medical devices. The FDA will propose subjecting e-cigarette companies to rules that already cover the makers of regular cigarettes, such as providing the government with lists of product ingredients, the agency said today in a letter on its website.

Electronic cigarettes are opening a new front in the tobacco wars as state and local lawmakers try to restrict the product, which may allow users to circumvent smoking bans.

Ten dollars for a pack of cigarettes? It might soon become a reality in many stores in New York City. The cigarette tax in New York would jump $1.60 a pack under a tentative deal struck between Governor David Paterson and state government leaders.