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Department of Transportation bans e-cigarettes in checked baggage

But they're still allowed in your carry-on.

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Like the FDA, which recently decided to regulate e-cigarettes like tobacco products, the Department of Transportation has also decided to treat e-cigarettes like a fire hazard. The DOT issued a final rule today, banning e-cigarette batteries in checked baggage.

"Fire hazards in flight are particularly dangerous, and a number of recent incidents have shown that e-cigarettes in checked bags can catch fire during transport," U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. "Banning e-cigarettes from checked bags is a prudent and important safety measure."

The rule codifies an FAA safety alert you may have seen at the airport already, and passengers are actually still free to carry e-cigarettes and batteries onto the flight, just as long as they don't start vaping or charging the batteries in mid-air.