Louisiana House Passes Bill Outlawing E-Cigarette Sales to Minors

If passed into law, legislation could be first to regulate growing industry.

April 28, 2014

BATON ROUGE, La. – A bill outlawing the sale of electronic cigarettes or other alternative nicotine products to minors passed unanimously in the Louisiana House last week, according to the Times-Picayune. 

House Bill 1264, sponsored by state Rep. Frank Hoffman, would add alternative nicotine products, such as electronic cigarettes or any product that contains nicotine "that is intended for human consumption, whether chewed, absorbed, dissolved or ingested by any other means," to the current law regulating the unlawful sale of tobacco products.

A similar bill, Senate Bill 12, is being sponsored by state Sen. Rick Gallot. If passed into law, the legislation would potentially be the first to regulate the e-cigarette industry, which could reach $1.5 billion in sales this year.

On March 14, NACS issued a statement of position that encourages stores selling e-cigarettes to adopt, as a best practice, a policy of treating these products as age-restricted, subjecting them to the same age-verification procedures as those applicable to tobacco products.

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