ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — Lawmakers are discussing two bills, hoping to prevent the teen use of vaping products.
Both are now set to be voted on by the full House and Senate. Vape shop owners say the new legislation will put them out of business and increase tobacco use.
They’re making another push to convince lawmakers to amend the bills. If they fail, they say they'll immediately have to close up shop and lay off some 50 thousand workers statewide.
Proponents say the legislation would limit vaping products that can be sold in Florida to only those that are FDA approved, all in an effort to reduce teen use of vaping.
"What we've seen is that you can go into any store and you're going to see products that look like yellow highlighters,” said the Senate version sponsor, Sen. Keith Perry. “Those are not designed for the people who want to quit smoking.”
“Due to concern about products being sold in the state of Florida that have no oversight, i want to thank Senator Perry for filing this good bill and I intend to support it today,” said Sen. Colleen Burton at Tuesday’s committee hearing, where the SB 1006 was reported out to the senate floor with an 18-1 vote.
Vape product users and vape shop owners say the bills would severely limit access to only a handful of products made by Big Tobacco. They also claim the legislature is ignoring vaping use as a transition away from cigarettes, which the CDC says contain more harmful chemicals than vapor products.
“My goal was to get people off combustible tobacco because several people in my family died from tobacco related illness,” said Nick Orlando, a Tampa area vape shop owner.
If the legislation stays as written, Orlando says he'll have to close down the business he's had for more than ten years.
“If we shut those people down, what are we telling those people?” he said. “We're now closed? All the Floridians that work for them are going to lose their jobs.”
The legislature is expected to vote on the bills before regular session ends Friday, March 8.