Hawaii’s Governor Josh Green, M.D. has recently signed a legislation that aims (like many before it) to curb teen vaping. S.B. No. 975, S.D. 2, H.D. 3, C.D. 1, now Act 62, will restrict shipments of tobacco products, which in the U.S. includes vaping products. Senate Bill 975 will also focus on enforcement of the black market of the products as well as any sales online.
In a move that fails to differentiate between cigarettes and their safer alternatives, the large city of Dallas may be following the current trend in the state of Texas, and ban vaping where smoking is forbidden. The change was proposed by the city’s Environmental Health Committee and it has already been approved by the city’s Environmental Commission, and will now be passed to the City Council to signed off or vetoed.
While House Bill 114 newly passed in the state of Texas, will require that students caught selling, gifting, using or possessing a vape within 300 feet of a school, are forced to attend a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP).
Connecticut’s Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), is pushing for a ban on vape flavours. Such a proposal had already been put forward in Connecticut earlier this year, via a bill which sought to ban the sale of flavored nicotine products with the exception of menthols. However the Public Health Committee had vetoed it.
Measures aiming to shield from secondhand vapour
A more sensible measure has been set in Alabama, where smoking and vaping inside vehicles with minors have been banned, in a bid to protect them from secondhand smoke and vapour. House Bill 3, sponsored by Alabama State Representative Rolanda Hollis was introduced on January 20th and quickly passed through the House and Senate. It was signed into law only three months later.
Hollis had tried to pass this bill twice before. In 2020, it had overwhelming bi-partisan support in the house, but surprisingly never made it through senate. This time round, it will be debated in March during the Alabama legislative session. Louisiana passed a similar restriction in 2020. At the time, state law already prohibited drivers and passengers from smoking in a vehicle with a child inside. The new law has expanded this regulation to include vaping.
Similarly, Georgia has extended the current law on smoking to vaping products, meaning that as of July 1st, vaping is forbidden in smoke free zones. The new measure aligns with Georgia’s Smoke-Free-Air Act set in 2005.
A bill passed in New Jersey, requires all vape shops and most tobacco retailers to have nicotine gum or other nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products in stock, alongside their primary products. Bill A6020/S4114 requires all vape and tobacco retailers to keep in stock nicotine gum or other FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapies to be kept for sale. The measure was passed by the state Assembly on a 50-18 vote in December, was by the state Senate on a 25-12 vote in January. The bill then proceeded to Governor Phil Murphy’s office to be signed into law or rejected.
Counterproductive measures
Meanwhile, reports from Louisiana indicate that the increased taxes and regulations aimed at discouraging the use of vape products are killing small vape businesses across the state. Shop closures of course mean less products available for smokers wishing to switch to the safer alternatives in a bid to stop smoking. Sadly studies keep indicating how this is counterproductive.
In line with data from the U.S. the survey Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England, conducted by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), indicated that a slight increase in vaping, from 6 to 9% between 2018 and 2021, led to a drop in teen smoking. This is a fact worth celebrating and should be considered a public health victory.
