LANSING, Mich. – Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed three bills relating to electronic cigarettes, saying the measures do not go far enough to regulate the devices, which he says pose significant health risks.

The bills would have excluded alternative nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, from the definition of tobacco products and prohibit them from being regulated as tobacco products under Michigan law.

“We need to make sure that e-cigarettes and other nicotine-containing devices are regulated in the best interest of public health,” Snyder said. “It’s important that these devices be treated like tobacco products and help people become aware of the dangers e-cigarettes pose.”

Snyder, in his veto letter, said he believes the preferred way to ensure that e-cigarettes are regulated in the interest of public health is to revise the existing definition of a tobacco product to make clear that e-cigarettes and other nicotine-containing vapor products are tobacco products subject to any restrictions generally applied to tobacco products under the Youth Tobacco Act, including the minimum age law.

Jim McCormick, CFO of Grand Rapids-based Electronic Cigarettes International Group, told the Detroit News that it’s difficult to gauge the size of Michigan’s e-cigarette market because a variety of retail outlets sell the devices.

“We are fully supportive of sensible regulation. We believe it’s an adult product,” McCormick said. “(But) it is not a tobacco product, and it should not be taxed as a tobacco product. We are adamantly against that.”