Members of the Oregon state legislature approved a measure to ban vaping products sold over the internet.
SALEM — The Oregon Senate approved House Bill 2261 on May 26, advancing the bill further through the legislative process.
This matters for vaping consumers and shop owners because Oregon is poised to become the next state in the U.S. to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes and vaping products through online sales platforms.
“There is no effective way to verify an age or stop minors from purchasing these products over the internet. In Oregon, you cannot buy cigarettes online, and there is no good reason to be able to buy vape products online either,” said Ellen Rosenblum, the Oregon Attorney General and the chief of the state Department of Justice, in a press statement.
House Bill 2261 was requested by Rosenblum’s office as a means to counter youth vaping and to offer the state’s criminal justice system tools to fight counterfeits and illicit sales.
Rosenblum adds: “Despite steep declines in the rate of underage cigarette smoking, increasing e-cigarette use among teenagers is threatening years of public health progress. If we want to make real progress in lowering rates of teenage vaping, we need to close this online sales loophole.”
Sen. Kathleen Taylor, D-Portland, was the primary sponsor for the legislation in the senate.
“No matter how diligent our retailers are, there is still significant access to these products online,” Sen. Taylor said in a statement reported by the local News Channel 21.
“Ensuring a face-to-face exchange is required for purchasing these products, we remove a loophole that may be used that can result in lifelong addiction and negative health outcomes.”
The House of Representatives passed House Bill 2261 on April 10, and through the Senate, with vast bipartisan support.
Gov. Kate Brown now holds the responsibility to sign the bill into law.
