Vitale Disappointed In Veto of Vaping Bill

Trenton – Senator Joe Vitale, chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, issued the following statement today expressing his disappointment in the pocket veto of legislation to counter the vaping crisis and protect against the dangers of e-cigarettes and other electronic smoking devices and products:

“I am disappointed that the Governor decided not to sign this legislation into law. It is a lost opportunity to take constructive action to counter the vaping crisis and to protect against the dangerous health effects of e-cigarettes and other vaping products. The bill contained common-sense measures to keep these products out of the hands of young people by cracking down on illicit, underage sales by bad actors who exploit their vulnerability to the allure of e-cigarettes and other vaping products. Many of the action items derived from the Governor’s own task force on vaping.

“We needed these measures to work hand-in-hand with the new law banning flavored vaping products to make sure we are tackling this problem from all angles. I welcome the Governor’s approval of the flavor ban, but we need to continue our efforts to fight off the attempts by the tobacco industry to lure a generation of young people into addiction.”

The legislation (S-4223/S-4224), sponsored by Senator Vitale, would have strengthened regulations of vape shops, capped the nicotine content in vaping liquids, prohibited the sale of all tobacco products, including vape products, in pharmacies and retail facilities with on-site pharmacies, established a tracking system for vaping products, and  increased the penalties for retailers caught selling tobacco and vaping products to anyone under age 21.