California has traditionally been on the forefront of smoking bans nationwide, and lawmakers in the Golden State are now considering to go as far as to expel even e-cigarettes from restaurants and bars.

Electronic cigarettes, which often look like traditional smokes, use a battery-powered vaporizer that simulates the feeling of smoking. Users inhale nicotine through an aerosol, commonly called vapor, rather than through cigarette smoke.

With the benefits and health risks of e-cigarettes becoming a matter of contention, Sacramento lawmakers now hope to ban "vaping" in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants. Senate Bill 140, which was introduced by Democratic State Sen. Mark Leno, would extend restrictions that are already applied to tobacco cigarettes to their electronic counterparts.

In an editorial, the newspaper urged legislators to support the move in an effort to "err on side of caution."

"The science remains murky on exactly what e-cigarettes do to the human body. ... But what is clear is that neither cigarettes nor e-cigarettes are healthy - especially for kids," the Sacramento Bee argued. "Until the science proves otherwise, the dangers presented by e-cigarettes should be treated like cigarettes. Anything else presents an unacceptable hazard to our children and to public health."

E-cigarette manufacturers, however, insist that their product is safer than tobacco products and applying the same restrictions would thus be unfair.

Pamela Gorman, the director of government relations for Njoy, an e-cigarette maker, urged the California Assembly in a letter to reconsider Leno's bill, which would also establish licensing requirements for sellers of e-cigarettes and increase enforcement of the ban of selling such "vaporizers" to minors.

"Our products do not contain tobacco and should not be pulled into what could be an avalanche of regulation and extra taxation as a result of this inaccurate characterization," Gorman insisted.

A long list of health organizations support the bill, however, support the legislation, which is set to be heard in the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee this week, the Sacramento Business Journal said.