TAMPA -- The House sponsor of a bill that would have banned flavored E-cigarette products and raised the state's smoking age from 18 to 21 says she's "disappointed" that Governor DeSantis has vetoed the bill.
The proposal from Rep. Jackie Toledo (R-Tampa) had support from state Attorney General Ashley Moody and Senate President Bill Galvano,both Republicans like Toledo and DeSantis, as well as groups such as the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association.
DeSantis said raising the tobacco age to 21 would be "superfluous", since Congress mandated age 21 as the minimum last year. He also said that “hundreds of thousands of Floridians” rely on tobacco-free vaping flavors “as a reduced-risk alternative to cigarettes, which are more dangerous," and claimed that a ban would drive vapers to "black market" vape cartridges containing THC.
E-cigarette shop owners lobbied for a veto. Florida Smoke Free Association President Robert Lovett praised DeSantis for "defending personal freedoms, small businesses and limited government."
Toledo's bill called for flavored E-cigarettes to be banned until the FDA came up with adequate regulations. She says she doesn't understand the need for the product -- if it is indeed aimed at adult smokers who want to quit."You're already used to (tobacco) flavor, so you don't need.. cotton candy (or) sweet flavors to entice you into vaping," Toledo said.
Toledo says the veto means Florida has no way for state and local law enforcement to stop those between 18 and 21 from buying tobacco products, since police need a regulatory framework at the state level to make an arrest. That means none of the sweeps with underage buyers that we see with alcohol sales enforcement. "A lot of constituents called me with complaints about vape shops selling to minors... and they have to call the federal government, basically," Toledo said.
Material from the News Service of Florida was used in this story.
Listen to an interview with State Rep. Jackie Toledo:
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