After 400+ years of tobacco tyranny, an alternative finally came about. The e-cigarette was invented in 2010 and provided people with an alternative to cigarettes. The device mixes water with a flavored nicotine mixture that doesn't damage the lungs with tar. While the device is certainly safer, that doesn't mean that the FAA wants you smoking it on planes.
The FAA issued a statement on Friday reminding airlines to have passengers store their e-cigarettes in their carry-on bags. The FAA considers them to be a "fire hazard," according to the statement. If the device is contained in a carry-on bag, passengers have the potential to report faulty or overheated e-cigarettes in a timely manner.
This bulletin was inspired by a series of recent events in which e-cigarettes caused fire damage on a plane or somewhere else. In one incident, a stored e-cigarette caused a fire on a plane and the crew members and passengers had to evacuate.
So, expect to see your friendly neighborhood flight company reminding you about the FAA's new bulletin. The policy now requires airlines to remind you on a constant basis.
E-cigarettes were invented in 1963 by Herbert A. Gilbert, who described his invention as "a smokeless non-tobacco cigarette," The Verge reported. However, the device wasn't patented until 2003, when Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik submitted a patent for a piezoelectric ultrasound-emitting element that vaporized liquid into an inhalable format. The device rose in popularity from 2007 onward, until 2013, when tobacco companies started their own series of e-cigarette companies.
