Electronic cigarettes are touted to be safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes, and this has made them highly popular. Out of concern for the potential effects of e-cigarettes on young people, State Rep. Ed Clere is sponsoring a bill that will call for licenses for all stores selling the battery-powered devices as well as taxes similar to what traditional tobacco products are subjected to.
When passed in Indiana, the bill will also include e-cigarettes in the state's smoking ban and will require liquid containers to feature child-resistant packaging to avoid accidental poisoning. Clere pointed out that while e-cigarettes don't have the same tar and chemicals found in ordinary cigarettes, much is still unknown about how safe they are exactly.
As it is, Indiana already prohibits stores from selling e-cigarettes to individuals under 18 years old.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller feels, however, that the federal government is not doing enough to regulate them in general.
"Let's all be clear -- e-cigarettes are a new drug-delivery device," he said, adding they can also be used for smoking liquid THC, marijuana's active ingredient, and other drugs.
Zoeller joined 28 other attorneys general in August 2014, urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to implement new measures that will keep minors safe from e-cigarettes. The attorneys general sent a joint letter to the agency four months after the FDA had proposed regulations, such as requiring labels with health warnings and banning the sale of the device to minors.
An annual survey on drug use released by the federal government in December 2014 showed that teens smoke more e-cigarettes than traditional ones, with more frequent use rising with age, According to the survey, 17 percent of high school seniors are already using e-cigarettes.
Brianna Herndon, spokesperson for Tobacco Free Indiana, said that passing the bill will help keep the youth away from the path of addiction, most especially when e-cigarette liquids come in appealing flavors to children, such as fruit, bubble gum and cotton candy.
Should taxes be imposed on e-cigarettes, it would boost wholesale prices of the device in Indiana by up to 24 percent. The state's Legislative Services Agency is still looking into how much the new tax source would bring in, but Clere has said that added revenue will be put to use in tobacco cessation programs in Indiana.
All over the country, over 250 different brands of e-cigarettes are currently available in the market.
