New Law: No Vaping For Minors - WUIS 91.9

Electronic cigarettes don't contain tobacco, but the vaporized solution users inhale does contain nicotine.

Sen. Julie Morrison, a Democrat from Deerfield, says she doesn't consider them safe.

Morrison says she'd kept stories about young people "openly and blatantly using these products publicly, because there was no reason they shouldn't. There was nothing in law that prevented them from doing that.”

Morrison is sponsor of a new law, signed Friday, that she says closes a loophole.

It has been illegal for minors to buy e-cigs and other smokeless tobacco products. Now, as with regular cigarettes, it's illegal for kids to possess them.

An initial violation carries a $50 fine or 25 hours of community service; the penalty kicks up with repeated offenses.

"I'm hoping that this will certainly curtail the use of these products with our young people," Morrison says.