HB 2357 was sponsored by Sen. Heather Carter, R-Cave Creek, and classifies vaping products in the same category as tobacco. This means that the devices would not only be subject to the same rules and regulations with regards to the sales of the products, but also with regards to where they can be used.
HB 2357 would allow towns and cities the right to impose their own regulations, so while it does not explicitly raise the vaping age, it would allow for it to be raised.
The bill would also allow towns and cities the rights to impose their own regulations. Therefore, while it does not explicitly raise the legal vaping age, it would still allow communities to adopt and keep their own ordinances and raise the legal age to 21.
Meanwhile, another bill, SB 1147 which is backed by the parent company of Philip Morris USA, would raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco and vaping products to 21 and establish fines for violating the law. However Carter is arguing against this bill as it would sidestep the aim of HB 2347 to define e-cigarettes as tobacco products.
“Why would anybody accept a solution to the health crisis we are facing from the very industry that caused the crisis?” said Carter. “They did this with cigarettes and now they think they can do this with e-cigarettes.”
Misinformation informing policy?
Arizona researchers have recently stated that the issue of second hand vapour is the same as that of secondhand smoke. “So, it’s the same issue with secondhand smoke that secondhand vapor contains all the same chemicals as if you were vaping yourself, just as secondhand smoke contains all of the same chemicals as if you were smoking yourself,” said Judith Gordon a professor and interim associate dean for Research in the UA College of Nursing.
She referred to a study from UC Riverside, which found metal and some other particles in e-liquids and the aerosol it produces. “I think there’s a lot of misperceptions around vaping — that it’s harmless. And the more we learn about it and the more we know and the more that we can educate people who are vaping about the potential harms to themselves and others of the product,” said Gordon.
Meanwhile, a peer-reviewed study released last Summer which analysed differences between e-liquid vapour and cigarette smoke, had indicated that exhaled e-liquid vapour product particles are actually liquid droplets that evaporate within seconds. In line with what previous air samples had suggested, this study had indicated that vaping probably has a minimal impact on indoor air quality.
Read Further: Arizona Capitol Times
