Controversial vaping bill to undergo major revisions (Illustrated)

The vaping industry in Indiana may rise again as lawmakers attempt to overhaul a vaping law that has often been criticized as unfair.

State Senator Randy Head, R-Logansport, stated that he will introduce a bill next week to “stop the monopoly” created by legislation passed in 2015 and amended in 2016, which essentially tasked a private security company with deciding which companies could manufacture the “e-liquids” used in electronic cigarettes sold in Indiana.

The supervisor is seeking changes, including reducing overall restrictions on the industry and eliminating contracts between e-liquid manufacturers and the private security company, shifting to state licensing instead.

The supervisor said that the licensing of e-liquid manufacturers should not be a matter decided by a private company, and that the state should establish strict rules for security companies that only allow certain companies to develop.

“This is a government function, and the government should do it,” the supervisor said.

His bill will also seek to repeal a requirement that prohibits new manufacturers from entering the industry after July 2016.

This would be a welcome development for innovative e-cigarette manufacturers as the new year of 2017 begins.