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South Carolina Lawmakers Plan to Crack onto Teen Vaping

As South Carolina’s lawmakers will begin filing their proposals for the 2019-20 legislative session in a week’s time, two of the State’s Representatives are planning to file a bill that would make it harder for adolescents to have access to vaporizers.

Diane Caruana

December 13, 2018

The proposed bill would ban vaping on public school property and would require anyone attempting to purchase the devices online or by mail, to prove that they are at least 18 years of age.

Richland County state Reps. Kirkman Finlay, a Republican, and Beth Bernstein, a Democrat, are preparing to file a bill that will make it harder for minors to have access to vaping devices. This legislation would ban vaping on public school property and would require anyone attempting to purchase the devices online or by mail, to prove that they are at least 18 years of age.

“I really want people to be aware this has become an epidemic, really, of minors vaping, which will then lead to (nicotine) addiction,” said Bernstein. “While vaping will normally help adults (quit smoking), this will actually promote the nicotine habit for the teenager and pre-teen.”

Public health experts question the FDA’s flavour ban

This motion comes after last month’s announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), saying that it would ban the sales of e-cig flavours at most retail outlets, due to an alarming increase in teen vaping.

Many anti-smoking experts have spoken up in response to this ban, saying that the agency is exaggerating the risks of e-cigarettes, and that these efforts are unjustified. Public health expert Clive Bates has added that the actual data which would support the FDA’s actions have not even been released yet.