preview

The Lack Of Regulation From The Food And Drug Administration ( Fda ) On Electronic Cigarette Products

Good Essays

The lack of regulation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on electronic cigarette products is creating a desire for state and local governments to enact laws aimed to address their usage (Balakit, 2014). In Maryland, House Bill 0026, Clean Indoor Air Act – Use of Electronic Smoking Devices – Prohibition, was intended to make the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), “battery-operated devices that contain nicotine cartridges and other chemicals,” illegal in public places (Subramaniam, 2015, p. 2). This would be consistent with the 2007 legislation that prohibited the use of traditional cigarette or other tobacco products that elicit smoke in public places. On February 11, 2015, the Economic Matters Committee heard both …show more content…

This could have provided the justification for the committee to deny HB0026, as it is possible that members of the committee felt as if prohibiting the sale of these products to minors was a safe enough form of policy implementation regarding e-cigarettes at this time.
HB0026 was an aggressive bill, one that perhaps did not have the appeal that New Jersey’s law had because of its inability to also address sales to minors. It was a bill that was going to most likely hinder sales of these products and state revenue so it is not hard to understand why the Economic Matters Committee issued an unfavorable outcome. Also, it was the Health and Senior Services Committee who approved New Jersey’s respective legislation, not a committee concerned with economic matters. Perhaps if this bill was brought before the Health and Government Options committee, it may have been more likely to be passed. During the hearing of HB0026, e-cigarette store owners found it troubling that they would not be exempt from penalties of this legislation, claiming that it would dramatically cut sales if they were unable to allow for people to sample the product, for example (Economic Matters Committee meeting, 2011). If HB0026 made vendors exempt from infractions of this law, then it may have been better received among store owners. This further exemplifies how this bill fell victim to the committee it was heard by. It appears that the revenue of these products was

Get Access