A bill aimed at cracking down on teen vaping in Utah died in a committee hearing Monday.
H.B. 118 would have banned flavored e-cigarettes from all stores except tobacco specialty stores, which are closed to people under 21. The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Jen Dailey-Provost, eased those restrictions on Monday and changed the bill to allow other stores to sell menthol flavored e-cigarettes.
She said House leadership told her it would not pass without that change, but it still failed
“I am disappointed,” Dailey-Provost said. “We had that big press conference at the beginning of his session with the Senate president and the Speaker of the House and the Governor and a lot of advocates who see that this is a really big problem ... I really thought we had the political will to get it done this year.”
But Dave Davis with the Utah Retail Merchants Association, said they had asked Dailey-Provost for another exemption in the bill, which she declined.
“I don't think this is a surprise to the representative,” Davis said during Monday’s hearing, “but we don't support this bill in its current form.”
Davis said the Association had asked for an exception for tobacco products with a federal designation that allows them to be marketed, which Dailey-Provost refused.
Davis added the Association supports other bills targeting teen e-cigarette use, but not this one.
