Bill would clamp down on ‘bad actors' selling nicotine to youth, says sponsor
Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, has filed a bill that he promised would add 'teeth' to Kentucky laws aimed at keeping nicotine products out of the hands of kids.
Higdon's Senate Bill 100, filed Thursday, seeks to license all retailers who sell tobacco and vape products, giving the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control inspection and enforcement powers over them, similar to those it exercises over alcohol retailers. Kentucky law prohibits the sale of tobacco and vaping products and alcohol to those younger than 21.
SB 100 also establishes a framework for fining sales clerks who violate the law by selling products to underage buyers as well as the shop owner. Clerks would be fined $100 per violation. Shop owners would receive a notice after the first violation, then be fined $500 on the second offense and then $1,000.
Upon a fourth violation, retailers would lose their license and not be able to renew it for two years, according to the bill.
Half of the fine money would go to 'a youth program directed at targeting and educating youth on the dangers of tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products,' according to the bill. The other half goes to the 'cost of enforcement.'
'I've been a retail store owner, and I know for a fact the vast majority of Kentucky's retailers take their responsibility seriously and follow the law because they understand the dangers of youth vaping, and smoking and drinking for that matter,' Higdon said in a Friday statement. 'This bill isn't about punishing responsible business owners — it's about holding bad actors accountable. Those who repeatedly sell to minors are making life harder for the honest retailers who play by the rules, and we're going to put a stop to it.'
In Kentucky, smoking and lung cancer rates exceed those in the rest of the nation. About 17% of Kentucky adults smoke vs. 11% nationally. In Kentucky, 5% of high school students smoke and almost 20% use e-cigarettes, according to The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Smoking costs the state more than $2 billion every year in health complications, according to the campaign.
New restrictions on vape sales in Kentucky win approval with tobacco industry backing
Smoking is also a leading cause of preventable death across the country, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
'As policymakers, we can't just sit back while kids develop lifelong addictions,' Higdon said.
Also on Thursday, youth advocates with #iCANendthetrend at the University of Kentucky, which is student-run and provides prevention tools to Kentuckians, met with lawmakers to throw their support behind strengthening protections from the vape industry.
Griffin Nemeth, a youth advisory board coordinator for the hashtag movement, told the Senate Education Committee that 'licensing of retailers is not an anti-business decision.'
'Youth are suffering from this crisis,' he said. 'The industry has strategically manipulated them for years and years and years.'
Licensing retailers, he said, 'is an opportunity to protect public health, to protect the public health of our youngest generation.'
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