MINNEAPOLIS and ATLANTA – The Minnesota Senate is considering a broad set of e-cigarette restrictions, the Star Tribune reports.
The proposed bill, which is headed for a Senate vote, would prohibit vaping indoors and in public spaces as well as ban the sale of e-cigarettes to those under age 18.
Proponents of the bill, which passed a final Senate committee on Monday, maintain second-hand vapors qualify them for inclusion in Minnesota’s statewide indoor smoking ban.
“If you work in a hotel, restaurant, bar or VFW, I’m not sure you want to be forced to choose between keeping your job and being exposed to some unknown array of chemicals being released into the atmosphere,” said Sen. Ron Latz.
The Senate bill is far stronger than one proposed in the House, which would ban e-cigarette sales to minors and prohibit their use in public schools. It would not subject them to a wider indoor ban. Some lawmakers say the bill is premature absent sufficient evidence demonstrating that secondhand vapor is harmful.
“I have not seen the scientific data that says this is dangerous if you’re simply in the same room as someone using an e-cigarette,” said Rep. Will Morgan. “I’m a physics teacher. I think we should rely on science for decisions like that.”
E-cigarette proponents say the devices are a good transition for smokers trying to quit.
“I would ask that you pause before adding another layer of regulation that would be a disincentive for adults to use this legal product,” said Tom Bryant, director of the Minnesota Wholesale Marketers Association.
In Georgia, the General Assembly passed legislation yesterday that makes e-cigarettes an age-restricted product (must be 18). Jim Tudor, president of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores, told NACS Daily that the group supported passage of HB 251, adding that some of GACS members are already treating e-cigarettes as an age-restricted product. “We wanted some common standards,” he said.
NACS recently issued a statement of position that encourages stores selling e-cigarettes to adopt, as a best practice, a policy of treating these products as age restricted and subjecting them to the same age-verification procedures as those applicable to tobacco products.