Pending Regulations on Sale to Minors?
For many smokers, and even non-smokers, the invention of e-cigarettes was a long-overdue blessing. Odorless, smokeless, and all around more pleasant for those around the smoker. But like all things of that nature, they have sparked great controversy and debate. And no greater example of that is the issue of how to regulate their sale to minors – an issue currently being addressed by the Legislature.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed a series of laws to regulate e-cigarette sales last year, and many states have followed in their footsteps. And according to Senator Rick Jones, who proposed the bill, “If we don’t pass this into law, Michigan will soon be the only state that doesn’t ban sale to children. This has got to stop.”
But this isn’t the first time a bill package addressing these issues has made it all the way through the House and the Senate. Last year a similar bill made it all the way to the Governor’s desk before being vetoed. But not for the reasons you would think.
After all, Governor Snyder agrees that e-cigarette sale needs to be regulated when it comes to minors. But the proposed law just wasn’t tough enough. Snyder believes it needs to be regulated in the same way that all tobacco products are regulated here in Michigan. Which is not what current or former legislation is proposing. But either way, something needs to be agreed upon, and quickly.
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, use of e-cigarettes has tripled among high schoolers in just one year, which most people would agree is a problem. And the e-cigarettes themselves are really only the tip of the iceberg. What seems to be an even bigger issue is what is being put into them.
Just ask Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole. Last week the Sheriff’s Department was contacted about a high school student having a seizure. When officers first found the e-cigarette, they didn’t give it too much thought, but when they discovered what was inside it, the game changed entirely.
Darth Vapor is an oil marketed for use in e-cigarettes, but it has nothing to do with tobacco. Available online and in some stores, the oil contains synthetic THC and is used to get high. Because vapors are completely unregulated and totally legal in Michigan, there is nothing to stop minors from purchasing them. Which is also the case with the e-cigarette.
And this is by no means the first case they have dealt with. “All of our cases that we have documented involve Darth Vapor and e-cigarettes, where young people are ingesting this substance though the e-cigarettes and having violent reactions.”
The bill passed the Senate unopposed, with 37 votes to 0. It now heads to the House where it is expected to meet little to no resistance. We will keep you updated on how this develops.