Reports

Electronic (e-) cigarettes and secondhand aerosol – Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights. This fact sheet details the chemical composition of e-cigarette secondhand vapor, which includes nicotine, ultrafine particles, and other toxins and cancer-causing compounds.

Retail group urges youth e-cig ban – AP. A trade group, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing (NACS), is encouraging convenience stores and gas stations not to sell electronic cigarettes to minors, according to a position statement. The statement 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. Read the statement here.

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State Policy

E-cigarettes ignite debate between Snyder administration, tobacco industry over regulation (MI) – Associated Press. Tobacco companies support two bipartisan Senate bills prohibiting the sale and use of e-cigarettes and other devices that deliver nicotine if the buyer is younger than 18 years old. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s administration and health advocates are concerned that the bills would give e-cigarettes a "special status" and exempt them from standard tobacco regulations.

Bill to treat e-cigarettes like standard smokes moves forward (MN) – Minnesota Public Radio News. A bill that would restrict electronic cigarette sales and use in Minnesota has cleared multiple Senate Committees. The bill would restrict the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and classify their use as prohibited under the state’s Freedom to Breathe Act, which prohibits tobacco use indoors and in public spaces. Click here to track the progress of SF 2027.

Kasich signs ban on e-cigarette sales to kids (OH) – Associated Press. Ohio Governor John Kasich has signed a bill that aims to keep electronic cigarettes out of the hands of those under age 18. Groups such as the Ohio State Medical Association have questioned the legislation because it defines the items as “alternative nicotine products” rather than tobacco-derived products, which could exempt the products from being taxed and regulated like tobacco.

Lawmakers vote to limit minors' access to e-cigarettes (VA) – WTVR. The Virginia House and Senate both passed a bill that requires each public school board to develop and implement a policy to prohibit e-cigarette use on school buses, school property, or at school-sponsored activities by 2015. The bill will now go to the governor for final approval. To read the bill, HB 484, click here.

West Virginia lawmakers pass HB4237 to amend tobacco use restrictions (WV) – West Virginia Legislature. Both chambers of the West Virginia legislature have passed a bill that amends its existing youth tobacco use restrictions and sales to minors laws to include not only tobacco products but also “tobacco-derived products” (such as e-cigarettes and other smokeless forms of tobacco) and other products containing nicotine, meaning that one must be 18 years old to purchase any of these products. Read more here.

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National Policy

Senators look for e-cigarette marketing limits – AP. Several U.S. senators introduced a bill that would curb electronic cigarette marketing while the fast-growing industry awaits regulation by the Food and Drug Administration. The bill would restrict marketing to children based on standards set by the Federal Trade Commission and allow the agency to work with state attorneys general to enforce the ban on advertising.

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