Alabama lawmakers pass tighter regulations on vaping sales
The Alabama Senate Tuesday approved a bill imposing stricter regulations on the sale of tobacco and vaping products.
HB 8, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, would ban the distribution of tobacco, tobacco products, electronic nicotine delivery systems, e-liquids, and alternative nicotine products through vending machines. It would also create a licensing and fee requirement for retailers intending to sell these products.
'These products are harming our young people. We're not dealing with something that is a healthy product. This product is not a product that we should be inhaling into our lungs. So, we are just trying to protect our children,' said Sen. David Sessions, R-Grand Bay, who presented the bill to the body.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 28-5. The House concurred with Senate changes to the bill later in the day, sending the bill to Gov. Kay Ivey.
Similar bills meant to address concerns about youth access to vaping devices have been introduced over several years by Drummond. Drummond, who was present on the Senate floor during its passage, received a standing ovation from the chamber.
'Today, your hard work is paid off,' said Senate President Pro Tempore Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, who has sponsored similar legislation in the past.. 'The state of Alabama appreciates you. We all say thank you for taking care of our kids, the superintendents, all the school children throughout, and all the ones that are doing some bad stuff. They don't even know they're doing bad stuff because that study's not out there, and there's not any money to enforce this. This allows that to happen.'
Rates of smoking tend to be higher in Alabama, with just over 14% of Alabama adults being current smokers in 2023, with 9.5% smoking every day and 4.8% smoking some days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 12% of adults smoke every day or some days nationally.
Rates of high school students using electronic vapes in Alabama are also higher than nationally and have increased since 2015, when about 2% of high school students used an electronic vaping device daily, according to CDC's High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey data. By 2021, that increased to 8% of Alabama high school students reporting using vapes every day, compared to 5% nationally.
A University of Southern California 2025 study suggests that e-cigarette use in the past year declined in U.S. youths, but there was a significant increase in nicotine pouch usage from 2023 to 2024.
The bill would also establish the Tobacco Licensing and Compliance Fund; provide for an advisory board to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, and require tobacco retailers to post signage warning of the dangers of tobacco product use. The legislation also includes measures aimed at schools, directing the Alabama State Board of Education to develop a model policy for vape awareness, education and prevention programs in public K-12 schools. Local boards of education will be required to adopt policies based on this model.
During the Senate floor discussions, Sessions said he was concerned with the increasing use of vaping products among young people and the health consequences associated with them.
'We have an epidemic going on in this state with our young people. They are getting sick,' he said, claiming young individuals have required hospitalization due to the use of counterfeit products.
The Senate also addressed concerns about the bill's potential impact on businesses that legally sell tobacco and vape products. An amendment proposed by Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro and approved by the chamber allows the sale of FDA-approved products in convenience stores if these stores obtain the necessary permits and comply with verification requirements.
'This amendment would definitely fall still under the laws of this particular bill,' Singleton said, saying that the amendment does not weaken the bill's intended regulation.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
15 minutes ago
- The Hill
Kennedy visits CDC after deadly shooting
In a statement, HHS said CDC security led Kennedy on a tour of the campus, pointing out shattered windows across multiple buildings, including the main guard booth. CDC Director Susan Monarez said four buildings were hit, and more than 40 bullets smashed through office windows. DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose was mortally wounded while responding to Friday's shooting. Most CDC personnel assigned to the campus are teleworking this week, and additional safety and security measures are being put in place ahead of their return, according to HHS. In a statement posted on X on Saturday, Kennedy said the agency was 'deeply saddened' by the shooting. 'We know how shaken our public health colleagues feel today. No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others,' Kennedy said. Multiple reports have said the suspect in the shooting was fixated on the COVID-19 vaccine and blamed it for his mental health issues. Kennedy, who founded an anti-vaccine group before becoming HHS Secretary, has also long disparaged the CDC and public health officials. He once called the agency a 'cesspool of corruption' while running for president. Under his leadership, the Trump administration has laid off nearly 2,000 employees. CDC and public health officials have been subject to increased anti-vaccine backlash fueled by conspiracy theories, as well as blowback to public health measures implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The union that represents CDC employees said disinformation about vaccines has put workers' safety at risk and called on HHS to condemn the spread of false information about vaccines and protect employees from future violent threats.
The Hill
15 minutes ago
- The Hill
Five takeaways as Trump seizes control of DC police, deploys National Guard
President Trump announced on Monday that he was taking control of the District of Columbia's police and deploying the National Guard. Trump portrayed the moves, which will involve around 800 National Guard troops, as a response to high crime rates in the nation's capital. He said it was an attempt to 'rescue' the District from 'bloodshed, bedlam and squalor.' Reporters in a packed White House briefing room received handouts just before the president spoke where the District's murder rate was shown as higher than those of other international cities including Bogota, Delhi and London. Police statistics, however, show that crime rates in the District have fallen sharply over the past two years. Violent crime is down 26 percent when compared year-to-date against 2024. Last year, in turn, saw a 32 percent drop in homicides and a 35 percent drop in overall violent crime compared to 2023. That being said, the total number of homicides last year, 187, was still above the years that immediately preceded 2020's COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the main takeaways from Trump's announcement. A major assertion of federal power — and Trump's power The decision from Trump was more expansive than many people expected. A deployment of National Guard troops had been predicted, in part because the District's status — short of full statehood — gives the president clear control of when the Guard is deployed. The decision to wrest control of Washington's police — the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) — was a significantly larger step. The fact that it came amid falling crime rates makes it even more controversial. So too does the politics of the District. Voters who gave then-Vice President Harris more than 90 percent of their votes last November will have their police force taken over by a notably divisive Republican president. Trump secured fewer than seven percent of the vote in D.C. The Home Rule Act of 1973, which gives the District its current measure of autonomy, provides for a president taking emergency control of the D.C. police for 48 hours. During that period, a president who wishes to extend control is supposed to provide the reasons for that decision to the chairpersons and ranking members of House and Senate committees with responsibilities for the District. Doing this enables presidential control for 30 days. Any extension beyond that, the statute says, can only come if 'the Senate and the House of Representatives enact into law a joint resolution authorizing such an extension.' Whether Trump accedes to those requirements remains to be seen. D.C. mayor offers modulated response District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) was critical of Trump's decision without intensifying her rhetoric as much as she could have. Bowser called the president's move 'unsettling and unprecedented' in a news conference. She also used the move to reiterate her belief that D.C. should be granted full statehood — a long-standing aim for many of the District's voters. In relation to a question about the prospect of military troops being deployed, Bowser said: 'I think I speak for all Americans: We don't believe it is legal to use the American military against American citizens on American soil.' But Bowser struck a fairly restrained tone throughout — including on social media where she wrote: 'Here's where we stand after today's announcement: we will follow the law, work with federal officials, and continue the work we do every single day to keep D.C. safe, beautiful, and the best city in the world.' Not everyone in city government was quite so measured. The District's attorney general, Brian Schwalb (D), said that Trump's move was 'unlawful' and asserted that 'there is no crime emergency in the District of Columbia.' Democrats, liberal groups worry about militarization at Trump's behest Beyond the D.C. government, Democrats, liberals and civil rights groups expressed angst over what they see as Trump's penchant for gratuitous militarization. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said in a statement that Trump's 'ever-expanding use of the military for domestic matters is beyond alarming.' Reed cited as a precursor Trump's deployment of the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles earlier this year — against the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) — saying that this showed a willingness 'to deploy U.S. military forces on American streets for inflammatory and political reasons.' Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) accused Trump of being 'an incoherent wannabe dictator who is trying to turn D.C. into his personal police state.' Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) contended that 'using U.S. military forces to enforce a policy agenda on American soil is a gross abuse of power that reeks of authoritarianism.' Among the broader criticism, Monica Hopkins, the executive director of the D.C. chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called Trump's move, 'political theater and a blatantly phony justification for abuse of emergency powers.' It's unclear where things go from here Even amid all the words on both sides, there is a lot of uncertainty. One obvious question is whether Trump will fulfill the demands of the Home Rule Act, in terms of informing Congress about the reasons for his decision to take control of the police, and in ceding back control of the MPD after no more than 30 days. Another issue is where exactly the National Guard or other federally-commanded troops will be deployed. Trump has focused on tourist-friendly areas being besmirched by crime. But in fact Washington's worst crime rates by far are found in the economically deprived neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River, far from the epicenter of tourism. Another uncertainty hangs over what the president would characterize as success. In a social media post, he insisted that crime — as well as 'Savagery, Filth and Scum' — would 'DISAPPEAR' from D.C. Presumably he doesn't consider literally zero crime to be an achievable goal. Does any crime at all amount in his mind to justification for maintaining federal control? The news conference wasn't all about D.C. During Monday's news conference, Trump took questions on other topics. The most interesting moments came when he discussed his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, scheduled for Friday in Alaska. Trump's tone suggested a new turn against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump and Vice President Vance berated Zelensky during an Oval Office meeting in late February but more recently the president had seemed to be putting pressure on Putin. That changed back Monday, when Trump once again appeared to blame Zelensky for the war, which was in fact started by Russia's 2022 invasion. 'I get along with Zelensky but, you know, I disagree with what he's done — very severely disagree,' Trump said. 'This is a war that should have never happened.' A deadline Trump had set for new sanctions on Russia expired on Friday without action being taken.
Newsweek
16 minutes ago
- Newsweek
CDC Shooting: Georgia Man Fired Nearly 200 Shots, Broke 150 Windows
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The man who attacked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta on Friday fired more than 180 rounds into the campus, shattering about 150 windows. Bullets pierced "blast-resistant" glass, sending shards into numerous rooms, according to internal information circulated within the agency. CDC personnel said it could take "weeks or even months" to replace the damaged windows and fully clean up the site. Authorities identified the gunman as 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White, a Georgia man who had publicly blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal. Late Friday afternoon, White opened fire, killing police officer David Rose. No one at the CDC was injured in the attack. The notable bullet marks on the windows of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters are visible on Sunday Aug. 10, 2025. The notable bullet marks on the windows of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters are visible on Sunday Aug. 10, 2025. Associated Press According to a law enforcement official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, CDC security guards stopped the shooter before he drove to a nearby pharmacy and opened fire again. White later died, though authorities have not confirmed whether he was killed by police or took his own life. On Monday, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. toured the CDC campus, where security staff pointed out bullet damage across multiple buildings, including the main guard booth, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He was joined by HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill and CDC Director Susan Monarez. Kennedy also visited the DeKalb County Police Department, where he met with the police chief before holding a private meeting with Rose's widow. Monarez posted on social media Friday night that "at least four CDC buildings" had been struck during the attack. Over the weekend, details of the damage became clearer during a CDC leadership meeting. Two employees familiar with the meeting's discussion told the Associated Press—on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly—that Building 21, where Monarez's office is located, sustained the most bullet strikes. CDC officials did not say whether her office itself had been hit. An internal agency memo seen by an AP reporter confirmed those details. Employees were advised to work from home this week. In a statement Saturday, Kennedy said, "No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others," adding that top federal health officials were "actively supporting CDC staff." He did not speak to the media during his Monday visit. Former CDC official Stephan Monroe expressed concern about the long-term consequences for recruiting young scientists to public service. "I'm concerned that this is going to be a generational hit," Monroe said, speaking near a memorial poster for Officer Rose. Kennedy has a long history as a leader in the national anti-vaccine movement. Before President Donald Trump appointed him to oversee federal health agencies, he made false and misleading claims about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 shots and other vaccines. Tim Young, a former CDC employee who retired in April, said years of misinformation about vaccines and public health inevitably "take a toll on people's mental health" and "leads to violence." Dr. Jerome Adams, who served as U.S. surgeon general during Trump's first administration, said on CBS' Face the Nation Sunday that health leaders must understand the power of their public statements. "We have to understand people are listening," Adams said. "When you make claims that have been proven false time and time again about safety and efficacy of vaccines, that can cause unintended consequences." This article includes reporting by the Associated Press
