Senator John A. Kissel Applauds Passage of Youth Vaping Awareness Bill

HARTFORD – Today, Senator John A. Kissel championed legislation requiring dealers of electronic nicotine delivery products, known as “vapes”, to complete education pertaining to youth vaping prevention if they are caught selling to minors. Senator Kissel worked with the Enfield Youth Council, inviting members Izzy Dinnald, Jaci Martinez-Estrada, Alicia Lizotte, and Nicholina Parolo to testify in support of the legislation during the bill’s public hearing. These Enfield teens shared stories from their experience in public school, seeing classmates as young as eleven years old become hooked on vaping products. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives to hopefully be voted upon and signed by Governor Lamont.

“I’d like to thank the wonderful young people from the Enfield Youth Council for their inspiring testimony and hard work on this initiative. We must continue to fight against the youth vaping epidemic that is reversing multiple decades worth of youth smoking prevention and cessation work. This education will make it loud and clear if you sell vaping products to minors, you will be causing serious harm to their health, and to the community at large,” Senator Kissel asserted.

Dealers who sell these products to minors would be educated on how to comply with laws prohibiting the sale of vaping products to minors and will be provided information on the dangerous health complications that can result from youth vaping. Senator Kissel spoke passionately in support of this legislation that he has diligently worked on this session, voting for the bill as it passed the Senate in a strong, bi-partisan manner.