New Mexico Sets a Tobacco Age Restriction
New Mexico’s Senate Bill 131 on tobacco products advanced in committee, but amendments on local preemption and prohibition created new obstacles for the proposed age restriction measure.
U.S. Senate Bill 131, the Tobacco Products Act, was introduced by Senator Linda Lopez and passed the Senate Public Affairs Committee on Friday, January 31. However, while the bill may move easily through the Senate, it contains two amendments working against it: local preemption and prohibition measures.
Representative Liz Thomson explained that local preemption gives governments “the right to enact tobacco laws that are stricter than those of the state.” She added that this could mean that if the state does not ban flavored vaping products, any city within the state could do so.
A nationwide U.S. fruit flavor ban
Meanwhile, with a nationwide U.S. flavor ban taking effect, both the vaping industry and anti-vaping advocates have criticized it. According to the FDA guidance on flavored vapor products issued last month, the ban applies to tobacco sticks and nicotine pods in flavors other than tobacco and menthol, as well as products targeted at minors.
However, open-system vaping devices were not included in the ban, which greatly upset anti-smoking advocates, who said this would simply lead young people to switch products. On the other hand, supporters of brick-and-mortar stores continue to point out that banning flavors may be counterproductive to public health, as smokers seeking to quit are turning to flavored products.
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