Liz Szabo

USA TODAY

Concerned that children are being accidentally poisoned by the nicotine in e-cigarettes, Congress has passed legislation to require child-resistant packaging for the liquids that give e-cigarette both their kick and their flavor.

The House of Representatives passed the bill Monday by a voice vote. The Senate approved the measure last month. The bill now goes to President Obama, who is expected to sign it.

“A few drops of this stuff can cause a child to become extremely ill,” said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who supported the bill. “Requiring child-proof caps on these bottles is just common sense.”

Nicotine is addictive for adults, but can be deadly for children, said Susanne Tanski, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Nicotine can be absorbed through the skin.

"This is a really important piece of common-sense legislation," Tanski said. "Nicotine is quite a powerful drug that has complex effects on the body, including the brain and the whole nervous system."

A 1-year-old boy from Fort Plain, N.Y. died after drinking e-cigarette liquid in 2014.

The number of child poisonings has climbed dramatically as the popularity of e-cigarettes has grown, climbing from 271 cases in 2011 to 3,783 in 2014, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. More than half of poisoning cases have occurred in children under age 6.

Many e-cigarette liquids are colored and flavored like candy, making them tempting to small kids, said Vince Willmore, spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Those same features make them popular with teens, whose use of e-cigarettes has skyrocketed in recent years.

States racing to regulate e-cigarettes

The Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association, which represents e-cigarette companies, has supported legislation to create a standard requirement for child-proof caps. Many e-cigarette makers already use child-resistant packaging. “We believe vapor products should be accessible only to adults and support the reasonable regulation of e-liquid packaging consistent with current regulation of other products not intended for ingestion,” said Cynthia Cabrera, executive director of the trade association, in a statement released after the bill passed the Senate in December.

Some researchers say e-cigarettes have the potential to help smokers quit, or at least switch to a less dangerous substitute. Other researchers are worried that e-cigarettes, which are sold in flavors such as cotton candy, are getting kids addicted addicted to nicotine.

The Food and Drug Administration proposed regulations for e-cigarettes nearly two years ago, but has not yet issued final rules. Although draft FDA rules would ban sales to minors, the agency has not said it will forbid companies from using flavors, such as cotton candy, that help them appeal to kids. Many anti-tobacco groups have expressed frustration that the White House has taken so long to regulate the products, whose sales grow every year.

"It's absolutely critical that the White House establish a final rule" on e-cigarettes, Willmore said. "Only the FDA can take action to establish a national prohibition on sales to kids."

A study released last week found that 70% of teens have seen ads for e-cigarettes.

70% of teens have seen ads for e-cigarettes

Spending on e-cigarette ads rose from $6.4 million in 2011 to an estimated $115 million in 2014, according to the CDC, which issued the report Tuesday.

More teens now use e-cigarettes than conventional cigarettes, the CDC says. About 16% of high school senior have smoked an e-cigarette in the past month, compared with 11.4% who have smoked a conventional cigarette, according to the 2015 Monitoring the Future Study from the University of Michigan.

USA TODAY