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Sen. Hendren Says Could Be Months Before Consensus Formed On Vaping Changes

ARKANSAS (TB&P) — State Senate President Jim Hendren, R-Gravette, said it could be months before consensus is formed on his proposal, which he calls a...
LUNG DISEASE LINKED TO VAPING-YALFW (1)

ARKANSAS (TB&P) — State Senate President Jim Hendren, R-Gravette, said it could be months before consensus is formed on his proposal, which he calls a starting point, to tax and regulate vaping and e-cigarette products.

Sen. Hendren Says Could Be Months Before Consensus Formed On Vaping Changes
Sen. Hendren Says Could Be Months Before Consensus Formed On Vaping Changes

“If you’re going to get the support, you’re going to know within a few months. This may take a little bit longer because there’s a lot of new evidence coming out, and we do want to make sure that we gather all the data, that we make wise decisions about how we implement this,” he said.

“I’m not a big fan of special sessions, but there are times to have them, and when every school official is saying, ‘This is an epidemic that is exploding in our schools,’ every day we wait, we’re getting more and more kids addicted to this product. Legislation isn’t going to change it overnight, but it’s going to begin to make the changes and begin to curb this growing epidemic that we have in our schools. So, I’m hoping, because of that urgency that we have to stop a future generation from becoming addicted to nicotine through this new delivery method, we’ll get the support and we can take care of it sooner rather than later.”

Hendren has proposed the School Safety Act, which would levy a 67% privilege tax on e-cigarettes like the one levied on many other tobacco products. Cigarettes in Arkansas are taxed at a rate of $1.15 per pack. The bill would add e-cigarettes to the Arkansas Clean Indoor Air Act of 2006, which prohibits smoking indoors in public places. It also would ban e-cigarette advertising on outdoor billboards located within 1,000 feet of a public or private school or playground, and make other restrictions.

To read more of this story, visit our content partner Talk Business & Politics.

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