Two major pieces of legislation designed to tighten regulations around both electronic cigarettes and consumable THC products like delta-8 were approved by the Legislature on Tuesday (May 6) and sent to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk for final approval.
“Trying to protect the youth of our state is important, and I think the measures that were taken today with those bills did that,” said House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, speaking with reporters outside of the House floor at the Alabama State House in Montgomery.
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The two bills are House Bill 8 and House Bill 445 which target vapes and THC products, respectively, with both raising the minimum age for use to 21 in line with alcohol and tobacco products, and limiting their access and availability.
Rep. Barabara Drummond, D-Mobile, is the sponsor of HB8, and has carried similar bills for the past three years. The bill would ban self-service or vending machine sales of vape products in areas accessible to minors, as well as their sale outside of vape stores and specialty shops, minus some exceptions, including U.S.-made products and those approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The bill was modified in the Senate earlier Tuesday to both increase penalties for retailers who violate the new regulations, and to reduce penalties for minors caught using vape products. It was carried in the Senate by Sen. David Sessions, R-Grand Bay.
Concerns
Once the bill made its way back to the House for concurrence, several members voiced concerns.
“I guess what my concern is with this is that so many things that have happened this year are directly impacting the convenience stores and the gas stations, and it’s taking away the options for morally responsible Alabama citizens to be able to go in and purchase these items,” said Rep. Napoleon Bracy, D-Mobile.
Others, like Rep. Paul Lee, R-Dothan, expressed similar concerns, though Drummond, pushed back, stressing the rampant use of vape products among Alabama teens.
House members ultimately concurred with the bill and its Senate changes, sending it off to Ivey’s desk for final approval. Ledbetter would go on to call the bill’s passage a “step in the right direction,” and Drummond, that it would save lives, citing an instance where a Dallas County teen died after using a vape laced with fentanyl.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Alexander Willis and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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