Bill to crack down on youth ‘e-cig’ trend

Buyers of e-cigarettes, hookahs, cigars and pipe tobacco online or by mail would have to prove they are at least 18 years old under legislation proposed Monday by Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Elizabeth Esty. Buyers of e-cigarettes, hookahs, cigars and pipe tobacco online or by mail would have to prove they are at least 18 years old under legislation proposed Monday by Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Elizabeth Esty. Photo: Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press Photo: Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Bill to crack down on youth ‘e-cig’ trend 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Those who buy e-cigarettes, hookahs, cigars and pipe tobacco online or by mail would have to prove they are at least 18 years old under legislation proposed Monday by two Connecticut congresswomen.

The bill, proposed by Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Elizabeth Esty, aims to curb the fast-growing use of Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, among youth.

The Stop Tobacco Sales to Youth Act of 2015 notes that the current use of e-cigarettes among high schoolers tripled from 2013 to 2014. Approximately 2 million high school and 450,000 middle school students nationwide use the products.

“We cannot afford a setback in the progress we have made limiting tobacco use. Consumers need to understand the possible health consequences of using e-cigarettes and the need to keep these toxic nicotine delivery devices out of our children’s hands,” DeLauro, a Democrat who represents the third district, said in April in response to these statistics.

The bill would require verification upon both order and delivery, a system already in place for traditional cigarettes. It would also prohibit the shipment of these products through the U.S. Postal Service.

A 2015 study on Internet e-cigarette sales published in JAMA Pediatrics reports that 93.7 percent of youths who participated were able to purchase the products using websites that lacked age verification.

E-cigarettes are often touted as a “safer” alternative to cigarettes, as they don’t contain tobacco. The electronic version doesn’t produce smoke, but those who “vape” with the product still inhale nicotine, which is especially addictive among adolescents, says the U.S. Surgeon General.

DeLauro and Esty’s announcement, which took place at the Boys & Girls Club of New Haven, comes just a week after Gov. Dannel Malloy signed legislation to prohibit the use of e-cigarettes in state buildings, restaurants, schools and other public places. Connecticut banned the sale of vapor products to minors last year.