A House committee late Wednesday afternoon advanced a bill that would ban e-cigarettes and vaping in many public indoor locations.
The House Judiciary Committee moved the bill out to the full chamber after amending to it to exclude vape shops.
The bill, pushed by Attorney General Derek Schmidt, closes a loophole that allowed e-cigarettes and vaping in public indoor locations where smoking is now banned.
The House committee’s action came a day before another committee will consider legislation raising the age for buying tobacco products from 18 to 21.
The bill, which will be considered Thursday in the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, also would ban flavored vaping products with the exception of menthol.
Passed in 2010, the state’s Indoor Clean Air Act, banned smoking at many public indoor places including restaurants and bars.
Schmidt authored an opinion in 2011 that found that e-cigarettes were not covered by the law even if they exposed people to secondhand vapors that could pose a health threat.
At the time, Schmidt suggested the Legislature could redefine the word “cigarette” in state law to include e-cigarettes so they would be banned at indoor public places.
He also suggested at the time that the Legislature could rewrite the law so that the word “smoking” is redefined to include e-cigarettes.
Schmidt argued that that medical professionals have indicated that secondhand vape aerosol particles — like secondhand smoke — are harmful to people who inhale them.
Schmidt cited one study that found that fumes from e-cigarettes — like secondhand smoke — include nicotine, heavy metals and other chemical additives that are inhaled by people who do not vape.
Some lawmakers were skeptical of the health impact of secondhand vapors.
Among them was Democratic state Rep. Boog Highberger, who voted against the bill because he wasn’t convinced of the negative ramifications of secondhand vapors.
Highberger said he saw no conclusive evidence from the testimony about the health effects of secondhand vapors.
Democratic state Rep. John Carmichael had asked pointed questions about the health effects of secondhand vapors.
While he had been provided with additional information about the health implications of vaping, Carmichael said he still did not see a clear relationship between secondhand vapors and adverse health effects.
Carmichael said Wednesday, however, that he changed his mind and wouldn’t hold supporters of the bill to the high standard of proving the health impacts of secondhand vapors.
“I guess I kind of backed up from where I was before,” Carmichael said.
“As I listened to the testimony on the attorney general’s bill about (the) bad effects of a particular manufacturer of these types of cigarettes and how it does truly, I think, become a gateway to nicotine addiction, I have relented and probably changed my mind,” he said.
“I’ll compromise property owners’ rights and some other things to try to make it not as easy for folks to access what I do believe is a gateway to nicotine addiction.”
