The House has passed a bill that prohibits the sale of flavored "e-liquids" to minors, and would impose a $500 fine.
"E-liquids" are the substances used in electronic, or "e-cigarettes." The sale of e-cigarettes to minors is already illegal in North Dakota. But testimony on the bill in committee alleged flavored e-liquids encourage minors to get started on e-cigarettes, and therefore get them addicted to nicotine. Democratic Representative Alisa Mitskog says according to the latest youth behavior risk survey, there was a 78 percent increase in current e-cigarette use among high school students, and a 48 percent increase among middle school students. She also says flavored tobacco products have helped contribute to the first increase in youth tobacco use in 17 years in Minnesota. Mitskog says e-cigarettes are also very easy to conceal - many look just like flash drives, and many parents and teachers aren't familiar with them. And Mitskog says flavors are absolutely marketed to a younger demographic.
"When I went into a C-store, I was surprised and actually appalled at the flavors that are available for our young people. Among some of the flavors, most of them have a candy theme - skittles, watermelon, bubblegum, cotton candy, chocolate - to name a few. And they say this is what seems to be how kids are accessing, this is the entry level into e-cigarette use. The problem is that one of these pods of 5 percent nicotine is equivalent to an entire pack of cigarettes."
Some lawmakers didn't think the passage of the bill was necessary, since the sale of e-cigarettes to minors is already illegal. Republican Representative Rick Becker did not support the bill.
"This makes no sense, and really it's a moot point because it's already covered in the statute. So what we have here is this littleb it of mild histeria about the evils of flavors, and wanting to do something about it. Everything this is trying to do is already in law."
The bill passed on a vote of 60 to 33. It will now be considered in the Senate.