Changes to Florida vaping laws could be coming soon. This year Florida legislators in the House and Senate are considering proposals that would increase regulations on the sale of electronic cigarettes and raise the age to smoke and vape tobacco nicotine products from 18 to 21.
The new proposals in the Florida House and Senate (SB 1080 and HB 987) would raise the age to smoke and vape in Florida to 21, which is the current threshold mandated by federal law; maintain the status quo on flavored vaping products; and regulate vaping products separately from tobacco products.
Proposed Changes to Florida Vaping Laws
In January, the federal government announced that it would partially ban flavored e-cigarette cartridges like those used in the popular Juul vape pens. The ban is part of an effort to slow teen vaping rates and comes more than two years after the US Surgeon General declared youth vaping an epidemic. The federal ban affects single-use flavored nicotine cartridges. Liquid nicotine products typically sold in a bottle to refill vaping devices with tanks will be unaffected.
Last year, Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed a proposal that would have banned the sale of nearly all flavored e-cigarette products and raise the state’s legal age to buy tobacco and nicotine products to 21. The bill was backed by Attorney General Ashley Moody, the American Cancer Society, and the American Lung Association. The governor says he vetoed the bill because 21 is already the federal legal age to buy tobacco products and that banning flavored products would cause more people to return to smoking cigarettes, which he believes are more dangerous.
How Harmful is Vaping?
While our government officials argue their points regarding the new proposals, health organizations are working to inform the public about the dangers of e-cigarettes and vaping.
Youth vaping hit epidemic levels in past years but declined in 2020. Health officials attribute the drop to both federal and state policies directed at reducing teen e-cigarette use. As of February 2020, there were a total of 2,807 hospitalizations or deaths reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.
E-cigarettes are not safe for youth, young adults, and pregnant women, as well as adults who do not currently use tobacco products, according to the CDC. While some people use e-cigarettes as a way to quit smoking tobacco, the CDC also reminds the public that vaping is still not safe. Scientists still have a lot to learn about whether e-cigarettes are an effective way to quit smoking. Furthermore, they are not an FDA-approved aid.
The e-cigarette aerosol that users breathe from the vaping device and exhale can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances including nicotine, volatile organic compounds, ultrafine particles, cancer-causing chemicals, heavy metals, and flavoring that has been linked to serious lung disease.
Lung experts at Johns Hopkins are still in the initial stages of understanding how vaping affects the lungs, but they can say that it is harmful. They attribute several lung diseases to vaping, including popcorn lung, vaping-related pneumonia, and spontaneous collapsed lung. They are still learning if there is a direct link between vaping and cancer.
Protection from Dangerous Products
The rates of illness and death attributed to e-cigarettes have led many to quit vaping altogether. The best way to avoid potential dangers from these vaping products is to not use them.
The team at Panter, Panter & Sampedro is dedicated to protecting Florida’s families with more than 30 years of experience in all areas of personal injury law. If you have suffered a severe injury after using a dangerous or defective product, we want to know your story. Contact our office today for a free consultation at (305) 662-6178.
Sources:
CBSMiami.com Team (2021, March 24). Florida Lawmakers Again Looking At Vaping Regulations. Retrieved from:
https://miami.cbslocal.com/2021/03/24/florida-lawmakers-considering-vaping-regulations/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020, February 25). Outbreak of Lung Injury Associated with the Use of E-Cigarette, or Vaping, Products. Retrieved from:
https://cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html
Broderick, S. What Does Vaping Do to Your Lungs? Retrieved from:
https://hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/what-does-vaping-do-to-your-lungs
