Category: Legislation

  • Alabama Set to Ban Vaping, Smoking in Car With Kids

    Alabama Set to Ban Vaping, Smoking in Car With Kids

    Credit: Fantastic Rabbit

    The Alabama Legislature passed a bill this week that bans smoking or vaping in a car with children 14 years old and younger.

    House Bill 3 was created by Birmingham Representative Rolanda Hollis. She says she’s pushed for this for six years now.

    The bill makes it illegal to smoke or vape inside a car with the windows up or down, whether it’s on or off. A violation of this can result in a $100 fine, according to WBRC.

    “We’re going to save these kids from having bad allergies, having respiratory issues and everything that goes along with second-hand smoke,” said Hollis. “Even saving them from, as they go along in life, from getting cancer.”

    The bill is now waiting on the governor’s signature to make it law.

  • California Lawmakers Shelve Tobacco ‘Endgame’ Bill

    California Lawmakers Shelve Tobacco ‘Endgame’ Bill

    Credit: Peter Gonzalez

    Three years ago, advocates for reducing smoking and vaping in California won a major victory when they persuaded the state Legislature to adopt a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products despite an intense industry lobbying campaign.

    But in recent months, those same groups have been largely silent as a first-term lawmaker sought to phase out tobacco sales in the state altogether. His proposal was shelved this week without even receiving a hearing, and he will instead pursue a bill this session to strengthen enforcement of the flavored tobacco ban, according to Jefferson Public Radio.

    The decision by major anti-tobacco organizations to sit out another legislative fight reflects a broader disagreement among advocates about the best way to reach what they call the “endgame” of a tobacco-free future — and whether that should be their primary goal. Concerns over public backlash, political feasibility and potential cuts to programs funded by tobacco taxes are all factors.

    “All these groups have the same goal,” to eliminate the deaths and disease caused by tobacco, said Chris Bostic, policy director for Action on Smoking and Health, one of only a handful of anti-tobacco groups to endorse the sales phaseout bill. “But people have varying opinions of how to get from here to there.”

    Assembly Bill 935, introduced in February by Assemblymember Damon Connolly of San Rafael, would have taken the bold step of banning the sale of tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars and vaping e-liquid, to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2007.

    The legal smoking age in California is 21, so those who would have been affected by the measure aren’t able to buy tobacco from retailers for at least five more years anyway. But the proposal would have had the effect of creating a whole generation of Californians prohibited from ever legally purchasing tobacco products, with the goal of making it more difficult for them to start smoking or vaping.

    It’s an idea that remains on the cutting edge globally. New Zealand became the first country to adopt the approach in December, banning the sale of smoked tobacco products such as cigarettes for anyone born after 2008. The Massachusetts town of Brookline passed a more expansive ban on tobacco products, including vapes, in 2020, which faced a legal challenge from retailers and was upheld in court last year.

    Lawmakers in Hawaii and Nevada also introduced sales phaseout proposals this year, but neither measure has received a hearing yet either.

  • Texas House Bill Would Ban Vaping at Colleges

    Texas House Bill Would Ban Vaping at Colleges

    Credit: C5Media

    A bill introduced in the Texas House of Representatives would ban the use of all tobacco and vaping products at colleges and universities in the state of Texas by Aug. 1, 2024.

    Rep. Suleman Lalani has introduced H.B. 3124, requiring “each institution of higher education shall adopt a policy prohibiting the use” of tobacco products and e-cigarettes by Aug. 1, 2024, according to Charlie Minato of Halfwheel.

    The bill received a public hearing Monday in the Texas House’s Higher Education Committee. It currently does not appear to have any additional sponsors.

    The five largest universities in the state all have some sort of tobacco-free policy on campus though some—Texas A&M and UT Arlington—are stricter than others like the University of Houston.

  • Kansas Set to Raise Purchase Age of Tobacco to 21

    Kansas Set to Raise Purchase Age of Tobacco to 21

    The Kansas Senate passed House Bill 2269, 28-11, which will raise the minimum tobacco purchasing age in the state to 21 from 18, reports ksnt.com. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk.

    The bill would bring Kansas into compliance with federal law, making it illegal for a retailer to sell tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and cigarettes, to anyone under the age of 21.

    Representative Tom Kessler, a Republican from Wichita who carried the bill, said the state could lose funding from the federal government if the legislation is not enacted. “We do stand to lose a little bit of funding if we don’t conform with federal law,” Kessler said. “We’re going to lose about $1.2 million of funding if we don’t make this transition within the window that the feds allowed us to.”

    Representative John Eplee said that some retailers in the state have moved toward federal compliance but others have not, making federal law harder to enforce. “Most vendors have already complied with this, but are not required to, and it makes enforcement ‘herky jerky’ in our state,” Eplee said. “Forty-six other states have already fallen into compliance … we’re just asking Kansas to do the same thing.”

  • Argentina Bans Imports and Sales of E-Cigarettes

    Argentina Bans Imports and Sales of E-Cigarettes

    The Ministry of Health of Argentina has banned the importation, distribution, commercialization and advertising of different types of electronic cigarettes and accessories “throughout the national territory,” reports MercoPress.

    Health Minister Carla Vizzotti signed a resolution prohibiting heated-tobacco products (HTPs) “based on the risks involved” in using them. The health department stated that many studies have shown HTPs “produce aerosols with nicotine and other chemicals, such as acetaldehyde, acrolein and formaldehyde, [and] are harmful and potentially harmful to health.”

    “Evidence suggests that novel products such as HTPs and similar products are particularly attractive to children and adolescents, and their introduction into the market has the potential to lead to tobacco initiation in young and nonsmoking adults, threatening the achievements already made in tobacco control,” the official document stated.

    The National Risk Factors Survey 2018 showed that 1.1 percent of the adult Argentinian population used electronic cigarettes while the 2018 Global Youth Tobacco Survey showed that 7 percent of those aged 13 to 15 consumed electronic cigarettes.

  • Taiwan Tightens Rules, Boosts Fines for Vaping

    Taiwan Tightens Rules, Boosts Fines for Vaping

    The National Police Agency confirmed to Taiwan News on Thursday that police can now issue on-the-spot fines of up to NT$10,000 ($330) to those caught vaping after Taiwan’s legislature passed amendments to Taiwan’s Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act on Wednesday.

    E-cigarette users can either be fined on the spot, or photo and video evidence can be used by the government to send the fines to violators’ registered addresses, similar to fines currently issued for smoking in non-smoking areas, jaywalking, and other minor offenses.

    The fine for vaping is now the same as for smoking in areas designated as non-smoking, between NT$2000 and NT$10,000.

    The amendments passed on Wednesday also increase the legal age for purchasing cigarettes from 18 to 20, and prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Importers, manufacturers, and sellers can now be fined up to NT$50 million.

  • Hawaii Lawmakers Propose Tobacco ‘Endgame’ Bill

    Hawaii Lawmakers Propose Tobacco ‘Endgame’ Bill

    Credit: Oleksandra Voinova

    Generational bans on vaping and other tobacco products are becoming more popular with lawmakers.

    A new bill introduced in the Hawaii Senate would make it illegal for anyone born after 2002 to possess, purchase or use tobacco or vaping products. 

    S.B. 148 would change the state’s tobacco rules to deny anyone born after to Jan. 1, 2003, from purchasing and consuming these products.

    The rules would only apply while in Hawaii, meaning out-of-state visitors would need to comply with Hawaii’s laws, though Hawaii residents would not be subject to the laws while visiting other states, reports Halfwheel.

    Those caught selling or providing tobacco or vaping products would be subject to the existing fine structure for selling to those under 21: $500 for a first offense, and $500-$2,000 for any offense after that.

    In addition, anyone born after 2002 caught violating the law as a consumer would be subject to a $10 fine for the first offense, a $50 fine for a subsequent offense, or the option to do between 48-72 hours of community service.

    If passed, the change would take effect on Jan. 1, 2024. S.B. 148 currently has six sponsors.

    The concept was introduced in New Zealand in 2021 and was approved by that country’s government late last year. It has also been proposed in Malaysia.

    Since then similar proposals have been introduced in California, Hawaii and Nevada, though none have been passed.

    In 2015, Hawaii became the first to increase the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21 years old, which has since become the federal standard.

    In 2019, Hawaiian lawmakers proposed a bill that would slowly increase the age to purchase tobacco products starting with raising the minimum age for buying cigarettes from 21 to 30 in 2020.

    By 2022, no one under 50 would have been able to buy cigarettes.

  • New Bill Proposes Combustible ‘Endgame’ in Nevada

    New Bill Proposes Combustible ‘Endgame’ in Nevada

    Credit: Peter Zayda

    A new bill in the U.S. state of Nevada seeks to end all combustible cigarette sales in the state by 2030 and would also include flavored e-cigarettes.

    The bill would ban all e-cigarettes that are flavored to taste like something other than tobacco, but spares most other non-combustible tobacco products.

    Assemblyman David Orentlicher has introduced A.B. 294, which would make several changes to how combustible tobacco products other than premium cigars are sold in the state, essentially outlawing their sale by 2030, reports Charlie Minato of Halfwheel.

    Among other things, the bill would bar the Nevada Department of Taxation from issuing any license to any vending machine operator, manufacturer or wholesale dealer of combustible cigarette products on or after Jan. 1, 2029.

    The licenses are only valid in the calendar year they are issued, meaning there would be no licensed wholesale dealers beginning on Jan. 1, 2030.

    It would also make it illegal to sell combustible tobacco products to anyone born on or after Dec. 31, 2002.

  • Sheridan, Wyoming to Consider Criminalizing Youth Vaping

    Sheridan, Wyoming to Consider Criminalizing Youth Vaping

    Credit: Photos 593

    The city council in Sheridan, Wyoming, will meet Tuesday, February 21 for their regularly scheduled business meeting instead of Monday due to the President’s Day holiday. According to Sheridan Media, one of the items the Council will consider is an ordinance pertaining to vaping and tobacco use by minors in the City.

    Under the proposed ordinance, any minor found possessing tobacco or electronic cigarettes (vaping devices) would be subject to a tiered system of fines through Municipal Court.

    There will be a public hearing prior to the Council considering the ordinance on first reading. There will also be a public hearing and subsequent first-reading consideration of an ordinance regarding drug paraphernalia within the City. The City Council will meet Tuesday night at 7 in Council Chambers on the third floor of Sheridan City Hall.

  • California Lawmaker Brings Tobacco ‘Endgame’ Bill

    California Lawmaker Brings Tobacco ‘Endgame’ Bill

    Credit: Niro World

    A California legislator has introduced a bill to ban vaping and other tobacco products from being purchased by anyone born after January 1, 2007. If enacted, it would mean that eventually no one in California would be legally allowed to buy any form of tobacco product, including cigars, snus and vapes.

    Assembly Bill 935, a phased ban introduced on February 14 by assembly member Damon Connolly, would mean that anyone in California who is presently 16 years old or younger could never legally buy a tobacco product in that state. Penalties would be up to $6,000 for repeat offenders and include a tobacco license loss, reports Davis Savona of Cigar Aficionado.

    Connolly, an attorney, has also served as Vice-Mayor of San Rafael, among other positions.

    There is precedent for such legislation, but not in the United States. This move would mimic a New Zealand law that has banned tobacco sales to anyone born in or after 2009.