SALT LAKE CITY - A
lawmaker in Utah has introduced a bill that would change the tax code to
include e-cigarettes and dissolvable tobacco products in the same category as
cigarettes, the Associated Press reports. State Rep. Paul Ray??s measure would
also mandate those products be sold from a locked cabinet behind the checkout
counter.
In addition, the bill
would give city or county agencies the ability to impose fines and penalties on
any retailer who sells dissolvable tobacco products or electronic cigarettes to
customers under age 19. State law currently prohibits the sale of tobacco
products to anyone under 19, but does not include e-cigarettes and dissolvable
tobacco products.
Ray said that changing the
tax status on dissolvable tobacco products and e-cigarettes would increase the
cost of those products and therefore discourage use among young people. The
change in the tax code could generate $1.6 million in annual revenue.
An amended measure sailed
through a House committee this week, and will now move on to the entire House.
Ray is pushing for House leaders to help bring the bill to a vote before the legislature
ends its session on March 14.
Earlier this year,
Indiana??s House passed legislation that bans the
sale of e-cigarettes to minors, while antismoking groups are pushing the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate
e-cigarettes.