Senate and House committees advance bills targeting new-age smoking

Despite pushback from the Florida Retail Federation and e-cigarette company Juul Labs, the Senate is advancing a bill to put ad restrictions on non-federally authorized e-cigarettes and nicotine vapes to protect minors.

The Senate Industries Committee approved the bill (SB 980), known as the Florida Age-Gate Act, on an 8-0 vote. The measure would impose advertising, promotion and displaying regulations for certain nicotine dispensing devices and ban open displays to showcase those products in convenience stores and gas stations. The bill also sets in place escalating punishments for violators.

“For a first violation, an administrative fine not to exceed $1,000 but not less than $500, a 7-day suspension of the dealer’s permit, and an order requiring corrective action within 15 days,” the amended bill says. “A dealer, or a dealer’s agent or employee, who commits a third or subsequent violation within 12 weeks after the first violation commits a misdemeanor of the second degree.”

All fines would go to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to hire employees, fund investigations and run campaign awareness campaigns to encourage minors to stop using nicotine.

The bill would exempt those dealers who already received a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marketing authorization order and could still be allowed to advertise their products in retail stores.

Lobbyists from Florida Retail Federation and Juul Labs did not speak out during Tuesday’s hearing, although they signaled their opposition to the bill.

Sen. Jim Boyd appeared to allude to some of their concerns during the bill’s discussion.

Boyd said lawmakers had been approached about worries the bill would allow illegal products from China to end up in retail stores. He didn’t specify who reached out to him, but said that “some of the things we’ve been told today might not actually be 100% correct.”

Sen. Alexis Calatayud, the bill sponsor, answered him by saying e-cigarettes and vapes are “being sold today without FDA approval in convenience stores, in gas stations across the country.”

“There’s a reality that these products are all across the market,” the Miami Republican said. “In lieu of a magnificently expensive enforcement effort by probably the federal and state governments together across this country, this is a really meaningful way to protect miners.”

When Sen. Jason Pizzo asked why not just ban the sale of those non-FDA approved nicotine dispensing devices outright in Florida, Calatayud said that would create a black market.

“I’m voting for the bill, but I think we can go further,” Pizzo said.

Before the vote, Calatayud said she was open to lawmakers’ feedback to tailor her bill after it cleared its first committee. Up next are the Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government and the Fiscal Policy Committee.

The House companion bill (HB 843) filed by Rep. Alex Rizo has been referred to three committees but not yet been called to a vote.

Also on Tuesday, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced HB 377, which would exclude “heated tobacco products” from being taxed like cigarettes.

The lone dissenter in the 14-1 vote was Rep. Anna Eskamani, who called her decision “probably a protest vote.”

“At this point when it comes to the FDA, these products still meet the legal definition of cigarettes. And so for me I’m going to interpret it as cigarettes, which means they should be taxed the same as cigarettes,” said the Orlando Democrat.

Republican Rep. Chase Tramont, the bill sponsor, argued his legislation modernizes the law to account for the new technology, which he insisted was not like cigarettes.

“This is completely different. It’s not a cigarette, There’s no smoke at all,” Tramont said.

House analysis said heated tobacco products “generate an aerosol containing nicotine by heating a tobacco-filled paper stick. The sticks are placed into a device which heats the tobacco electronically which produces a nicotine containing aerosol inhaled by the user.”