INDIANAPOLIS — Regulations on electronic cigarettes are moving forward in the Indiana General Assembly but not exactly as originally envisioned by some state officials.
Before the state legislative session, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined lawmakers in requesting e-cigarettes be included in the state's indoor smoking ban and be subjected to the same tax as tobacco products. Lawmakers aren't pursuing those items but are proposing a number of new regulations on the industry, especially as it pertains to e-liquids — the flavored substances vaporized by the device.
The bill requires an e-liquid manufacturer to obtain a permit issued by the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission and use child proof caps on containers. The bill also prohibits retailers from selling e-liquids to a minor or that were tampered with. It also sets standards on the cleanliness for equipment used to make e-liquids and the room where the substance is manufactured.
Zoeller sent lawmakers a letter this month asking them to consider including e-cigarettes in the indoor smoking ban. "Despite years of debate and work by many of you to create an effective and consistent statewide smoking ban, in most areas of the state, anyone can walk into virtually any public building where smoking is prohibited, and begin vaping, leaving behind a vapor cloud containing nicotine with no consequence," Zoeller said.
State Sen. Carlin Yoder pulled a version of the bill from a final vote in the Senate last week, saying he had a couple of tweaks to make. Yoder, a Middlebury Republican, said the changes were minor and were not related to placing new taxes on e-cigarettes or including the devices in an indoor smoking ban.
State Rep. Ron Bacon, a Chandler Republican, said he likes the proposal's focus on e-liquids because it provides an opportunity to watch the products closely.
"We don't regulate it," Bacon said. "We don't know what people are putting in the e-cigarette and how it's handled, how it's made, what it is."
But Nathan Renschler, owner of Palm Beach Vapors in Newburgh, said the legislation would put "vape shops" out of business. He said complying with the legislation would require the use of a costly encrypted scan code system and the hiring of security in excess of what's required by a distillery.
"Everything about this bill is to put us out of business," Renschler said.
One of the authors of the new requirements, state Rep. Kevin Mahan, a Hartford City Republican, said he's not willing to wait on the federal government. The federal government has issued proposed regulations on e-cigarettes, such as adding health warnings and the requirement to register and review new products with the FDA.
"When I see a situation like this that really kind of came within the past two years, this is new, and I've described it as the Wild West. When you got teenagers that can sit at home and order this stuff from China and everywhere else and it arrives at their door and they are ingesting it and smoking it – it is crazy," Mahan said.