New Anti-Smoking Bills Regulate Vaping, Could Increase Smoking - yourcentralvalley.com

By Connie Tran | [email protected]


Published 03/04 2016 05:46PM

Updated 03/04 2016 05:46PM


FRESNO, Calif.

The smoking age in California could soon be 21. And vaping, which has become a popular alternative, may be regulated just like tobacco. It's part of a package of anti-smoking bills the State Assembly passed Thursday.

The six anti-smoking bills will then have to go to the State Senate and then to Governor Brown's desk before it becomes law. In the meantime, some vaping businesses in town are fearing the worst.

Fresno City Vapor owner Ryan Ah Tye describes the vapor liquid, "Basically is flavoring, vegetable glycerin, propane glycol and nicotine. Some of them have zero nicotine."

Ah Tye said about 20-percent of his customers are 18 to 21 years old. But if California mandates the smoking age to 21, Ah Tye said, "We'll see a drop in sales definitely."

One of the bills would define e-cigarettes as tobacco products, which would ban them from restaurants, theaters, and other public places were traditional smoking is prohibited.

"It'll just open the door for excessive taxation we've already seen in other states," stated Ah Tye.

He fears his customers won't be able to afford to vape, which for many, he says, is an alternative to cigarettes.

Ah Tye said, "We look at it like, harm reduction, like so, there's still nicotine in here but there's like six chemicals in cigarettes that are known to cause cancer and none of the chemicals in the e-juice is known to cause cancer."

But the American Lung Association disagrees. Local advocacy manager Justina Felix said vaping products are not regulated by the government.

She said, "It's a new product to addict a new generation of youth."

The organization beliveves e-cigarette or traditional, it's all unhealthy.

"By increasing the age from 18 to 21 what we're hoping for is that the longer we can postpone a youth from starting to smoke, that there's a higher likelihood that they will never start smoking," ended Felix.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of middle school and high school students using e-cigarettes tripled between 2013 to 2014.

The bills would not apply for those in the military. Those in the military would be able to still purchase and use tobacco at 18.

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I would not have thought that I would see the day when the age for smoking would increase. I was always met with the idea of lowering the drinking age to 18, so this is really a surprise to me. I guess it is not really shocking that it is coming from California, but I still do not think that it will pass, but who knows at this point. I do think that it will probably have negative results, though, because the age for smoking really does not deter anyone anymore from getting their hands on it.