Lawmakers To Tackle Vaping Crisis In 2020 Legislative Session
Jan 29, 2020, 7:09 PM | Updated: Jun 22, 2022, 2:28 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – The American Lung Association said Utah is failing when it comes to protecting kids from tobacco exposure. Governor Gary Herbert announced Wednesday that he, along with state lawmakers, will tackle the issue head on.
So far, at least three bills address vaping directly, and several more are in the works in the 2020 legislative session:
- HB-23 Tobacco Retailer Amendments – establishes a no-tolerance policy for selling nicotine products to children.
- SB-37 Electronic Cigarette and Other Nicotine Products Amendments – establishes a new tax on nicotine products to be used for the hiring of officers to enforce violations, including vaping products.
- HB-118 Retail Tobacco Specialty Business Amendments – requires that e-cigarettes are moved to age-restricted areas of the stores so that youth don’t see and become enticed by e-cig flavors.
State leaders lined up on Capitol Hill to talk about vaping among youth.
“37,767 – that is the number of students that we have struggling with nicotine addiction in our state right now,” said Marc Watterson with the American Heart Association. “To give you some context, that’s larger than the entire Canyons School District student body.”
Utah leaders are calling it a public health crisis.
Katie Bertram addressed the crowd at Wednesday’s news conference. She said as a teenager, she was addicted to vaping. She eventually quit, but she said she understands the hold it can have on kids.
“I started to notice I was having trouble breathing during activities,” said Bertram. “I started to notice that I was having chest pain when I woke up in the morning.”
“I failed at quitting many times, but I finally ended up quitting because I knew that it was between vaping or my health,” she said.
The governor said Utah has had one death related to vaping or e-cigarettes, and 127 others have had serious lung injuries.
“We are concerned. We need to have an awareness of what vaping is, and what it’s doing to our young people in particular, but to all people,” said Gov. Herbert. “Is vaping safe as some people are advocating? We say it is not.”
