In COMM 101, we talked about government regulations for soft drinks and whether they were necessary. This becomes relevant upon examining this article from The Economist, that discusses the e-cigarette industry and how the absence of quality and control standards may lead to government intervention, as well as the health issue. While e-cigarettes don’t contain the harmful carcinogens that hurt people’s lungs and cause lung cancer, they do contain the drug nicotine. While they are currently regulated as a casual item, different manufacturing standards given that many of these products come from China and other places where controls are more lax have given rise to the idea that there should be more regulations on the sale of e-cigarettes. Not only because of the drug issues, but because of how many locations exist where cigarettes are produced. One solution that has been put forward by several producers is the institution of better standards for production that are more consistent across the world. I feel like this would be better for the rapidly growing industry, which is growing due to slowing cigarette sales and turn in public opinion against it, because it prevents the intervention of government and the red tape it brings.