INDIANAPOLIS | Electronic cigarettes could cost more, and shops selling the nicotine-inhalant devices may face new regulations under bipartisan legislation backed by Republican Attorney General Greg Zoeller.
State Reps. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, and Ed Clere, R-New Albany, are co-sponsors of a proposal that seeks to reduce the growing popularity of youth "vaping" by limiting access to e-cigarettes and the locations where they can be used.
Under the plan, set to be filed in the House on Tuesday, e-cigarette retailers would have to be licensed by the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission and subject to inspection for compliance with the state's existing ban on selling e-cigarettes to children younger than 18.
E-cigarette products also would be taxed the same as combustible cigarettes, raising prices by at least $1, could not be smoked anywhere Indiana's indoor tobacco smoking ban applies and liquid refills would have be sold in child-resistant packaging.
"This is completely unregulated at this time, and these shops are springing up all over the state and flying under the radar," said Clere, chairman of the House Public Health Committee.
Zoeller, who serves on the board of a national foundation working to end teen smoking in the United States, said he was alarmed by a recent study that found more teens today smoke e-cigarettes than traditional cigarettes.
"We're here to stop this trend in its tracks. We all refuse to stand by as a new generation gets hooked on nicotine," Zoeller sad. "Our goal is to get ahead of the curve, unlike what happened when I was young where a whole generation was addicted to nicotine before anyone acted."
E-cigarettes differ from tobacco-burning cigarettes by using a small battery to heat liquid nicotine into a vapor, which is then inhaled or "vaped."
Zoeller said retailers typically sell flavor cartridges that turn the nicotine vapor into child-friendly tastes like cotton candy, bubble gum and gummy bears.
The e-cigarette device also can be used to "vape" liquid THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and other illegal drugs not normally consumable in public places.
Zoeller said he hopes that by preventing e-cigarette use in public places and raising the price, children will not grow accustomed to seeing them or buying them, and e-cigarettes never will be socially acceptable as tobacco cigarettes once were.
The proposal, which likely will advance through Clere's committee and to a vote in the Republican-controlled House by late February, is supported by Tobacco Free Indiana, the American Lung Association and several other anti-smoking and anti-cancer organizations.