“The House joint committees on Trade and Industry and Health approved a substitute bill regulating the manufacture, sale, distribution, and use of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs). The substitute bill entitled the “Non-Combustible Nicotine Delivery Systems Regulation Act of 2020,” was approved with 88 affirmative votes, 10 negative and two abstentions after extensive discussions by the two congressional committees. The bill highlights as a policy “to consider harm reduction measures as a public health strategy by ensuring that non-combustible alternatives to cigarettes are properly regulated.” The proposed legislation provides that the allowable minimum age for the purchase, sale, and use of e-cigarettes and HTPs is 18 years old. The bills allow the online sale or distribution of these products through internet websites or via e-commerce and/or other similar media. Product advertisements are allowed in-retailer establishments, through direct marketing, and on the internet. But “these shall not be aimed at or particularly appeal to persons under eighteen (18) years of age. On public use, Section 14 states that the use of e-cigarettes and HTPs shall be prohibited in all enclosed public places except in designated vaping areas (DVAs).”
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