The federal U.S. Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act awaits Pres. Obama’s signing
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On Monday, January 11, 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015 (S. 142). The bill was introduced on January 8, 2015, by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and passed the Senate, as amended, by unanimous consent on December 10, 2015. The bill goes to President Obama for his consideration and signature.
S. 142 enables the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to require child safety packaging for liquid nicotine containers. According to the House Republicans press release, “the CPSC currently lacks authority under the PPPA to require similar special packaging requirements for liquid nicotine because most liquid nicotine is derived from tobacco and is, consequently, a “tobacco product,” which is exclusively regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”
According to a Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids press release, there is a “skyrocketing number of poisoning cases involving liquid nicotine used in electronic cigarettes, which jumped from 271 cases in 2011 to 3,783 in 2014, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. More than half of these cases involved children under the age of 6.”
Read the bill S.142