The electronic cigarette bill, HB1541, went before the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee on January 25th, 2010 with a strong showing from the community to support this bill to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors. Everyone who spoke was able to convey to the committee the extent of the problem and the real need for the community to take action.
Some very compelling testimony came from Paige, a member of the Breathe New Hampshire Youth Network, Dover Youth2Youth, and a freshman at Dover High School at the time. She spoke to the marketing of electronic cigarettes, done in ways that only her generation was aware of. Pop up ads were showing up on Facebook and kiosks at the malls where electronic cigarettes were being sold had been designed and positioned to attract her age group. Paige addressed that e-cigarettes are high-tech and using them was being referred to as vaping, not smoking. She was also seeing the use of e-cigarettes at school, where the aerosol from e-cigarettes did not set off the school’s smoke detectors, so students were able to use them on school property and in the bathrooms without detection. In a short period of time, Paige was able to convey the problem so that the committee understood the severity of the situation.
A special thanks to Rep.DiPentima, the bill’s prime sponsor, and Rep. Kotowski who spoke on behalf of the bill. Also a special thanks to Rep. E. Merrick, Rep. Donovan, Rep. Pilliod and Senator Gilmour who were co‐sponsors of the bill.