FARMINGTON — Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, is a bulldog when it comes to cracking down on tobacco or for that matter, any nicotine-laced product.

A bill he introduced in the house to restrict “e-cigarettes,” and flavored smokeless tobacco, moved through a House committee Tuesday.

And Davis health officials are rallying behind his efforts.

“We are happy the issue is on the radar of legislators,” said Isa Kaluhikaua, a health educator with the Davis Health Department, whose expertise is in tobacco education. “We are concerned about the promotion of these products.”

The products that Ray and health officials are most concerned about are alternatives to smoking, which health officials fear may encourage young people and even children to try them out.

There’s Snus, a no-spit tobacco pouch meant to be placed under the upper lip, and Orbs, dissolvable breath-mint sized tobacco, with a camel imprinted on each. Strips are dissolvable, like breath freshening strips, containing tobacco, and dissolvable Sticks.

They’re each packaged in bright, attractive colors, which often look like candy packages.

Kaluhikaua is concerned products like these “could fall under the radar” and into the hands of children, “and that even the (store) clerks may not know what they are.”

She did some checking, and found the products are age-restricted. and when they are rung up at the register, the clerk should receive a notice to check for ID proving the buyer is 19.

Kaluhikaua said that she hasn’t done a check of which products are available at local retailers; she has seen some of them.

At a board of health meeting last month, Kaluhikaua told board members that if a child were to ingest three of the Orbs, they would get ill, and 10 would result in serious illness. Yet, she compared them to Tic-Tacs in appearance, and said they come in a variety of flavors children could mistake for candy.

“Some are designed to fit into creative packaging, and are marketed as a safe alternative to smoking,” Kaluhikaua told board members. She warned that the tobacco industry is creating new products all the time to keep the products in the public’s mind.

However, she warned, “There’s no such thing as a safe tobacco product.”

On Tuesday, House committee members heard from the public, some of whom defended the new electronic cigarette, “e-cigarette” which they say has helped them quit smoking.

The e-cigarette is a battery-powered device that looks like a cigarette and allows smokers to stop inhaling tar and other compounds found in cigarette smoke.

All the products contain some level of nicotine, which is of special concern to Ray, who told committee members that if he had his way, he would ban tobacco altogether. Countries worldwide are calling for additional studies of the e-cigarette and possible effects to the user’s health, especially if used for an extended period.

Most of the products still don’t have Federal Drug Administration approval, Kaluhikaua said.