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DAVISCOUNTY — Davis County isn’t waiting for Utah lawmakers to take action to regulate e-cigarettes.
The Davis County Board of Health approved the first e-cigarette regulations in the state Tuesday, according to the Standard Examiner.
The new rules limit the nicotine content for e-cigarettes and require manufacturers to clearly state how much nicotine is in the liquid inside the devices.
The liquid must be in childproof containers, and marketing cannot claim the e-cigarettes help people quit smoking.
"Nicotine is a product of tobacco," said Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield. “A lot of people say it's tobacco-free, but it's not. It's a product of tobacco, and it's poisonous. It's an insecticide, for crying out loud.”
Ray is sponsoring a bill to regulate e-cigarettes statewide because he said teens are getting hooked.
"They are not marketing it to minors, they say. But the biggest use is 16 to 21 (year olds), so obviously it's resonating with that age group," he said.
Adam Bramwell, spokesman for the Utah Department of Health's Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, has said the effects of e-cigarettes remain unknown and there are no restrictions on the manufacturing, labeling, advertising and sale of the products, which makes them "a top concern."
The percentage of e-cigarette use among middle and high school students in Utah tripled from 2011 to 2013. Surveys indicate that 5.9 percent report using the devices daily, according to Bramwell.
