In Florida, new legislation, which will take effect from October 1, aims to more strictly regulate the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes attractive to minors. Signed recently by Governor Ron DeSantis, HB 1007 places severe restrictions only on single-use products, while excluding refillable devices and e-liquids used in open systems, which are often less colorful and more expensive.
The legislation, promoted by Republicans Toby Overdorf, Rep. Palm City, and Keith Perry, Sen. Keith Perry, Gainesville, was one of the most debated non-culture wars measures of the last legislative session. Initially, the bill banned the sale of all vaping products that did not receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This version would have forced retailers to sell only 23 products, all tobacco flavored and from subsidiaries of major tobacco companies such as Altria, Japan Tobacco and RJ Reynolds.
However, after numerous complaints from business owners, industry advocates and consumers — many of them ex-smokers — concerned that the flavor ban would negatively impact business and encourage recovery smoking, Overdorf and Perry changed the legislation. The final version, signed by DeSantis, no longer relies on FDA standards, which are subject to change, but instructs the Department of Legal Affairs, under the direction of Attorney General Ashley Moody, to create and maintain a directory of disposable vapes deemed attractive to minors. This directory will be publicly accessible from January 1, 2025 and updated regularly.
Starting March 1, 2025, manufacturers marketing banned products in the state will be subject to a daily fine of $1 per product not removed from the market. This constraint will also apply to retailers, wholesalers and distributors who ship these products to Florida. Additionally, anyone selling a nicotine product to individuals under the age of 000 for the third or more time will face a third-degree felony charge, with fines of up to $21 and a maximum sentence of five years. from prison.
Nick Orlando, president of the Florida Smoke Free Association and a vaping store owner who had argued against adopting the FDA standards, praised lawmakers for passing restrictions he called sensible but responsible. The final version of the legislation almost exactly mirrors the recommendations Orlando made during the bill's second reading in the Senate in February.
This new legislation is clearly intended to balance protecting young people from attractive vaping products while preserving options for responsible adults.