Just a few weeks ago, some Indiana lawmakers were advocating to raise the legal age for smoking in the state. But Congress moved first, setting a new national age limit, partly in response to so many teenagers using e-cigarettes or vapes. Now, some Americans are applauding the decision as a win for public health, while others worry it was a knee-jerk reaction. Side Effects Public Media’s Carter Barrett has reaction from Hoosiers.

The federal rule was tucked into a budget bill, and came as Americans were prepping for the holidays, so it didn’t get a lot of media attention. But the law made a sweeping change to the country’s tobacco policy, raising the minimum age to buy cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

“This is not going to prevent every single incident,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  said in in mid-2019, “But it’s going to make it a lot harder for 18-year-olds to purchase these delivery devices and redistribute them to younger kids.”

Now, health advocates and state officials are considering what else needs to be done. The goal is to curb high rates of teens using these products and mitigate health issues.

“It’s been a lot harder road than we had originally thought,” the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Mike Ripley says.

The chamber has been pushing for the age increase and other tougher tobacco regulations since 2014. But Ripley didn’t initially foresee 2020 being the year it got done.

“It’s just like the sea has changed all of a sudden on this issue,” Ripley says.

Last year, issues surrounding e-cigarettes exploded into the national stage. There’s been a sharp increase of high school students using these products; last year 25 percent reported using e-cigarettes. And since August, there have been more than 2,500 vaping-related hospitalizations and more than 50 deaths nationwide.

Vape Shop Rules Changing

An “open tank” e-cigarettes sits on the counter at Mason Odle’s vape store, Just Vapor. These larger, open tank systems are exempt from FDA regulations on flavors.
Photo by Carter Barrett/Side Effects Public Media.

While some vape store owners feel they’re helping people stop using cigarettes, Indiana officials worry about losing ground on tobacco addiction among young people.

“But the concern, of course, is that this increase has just addicted our next generation of Hoosiers to nicotine,” Indiana Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said last month.

At Just Vapor, which sits in a strip mall in an Indianapolis suburb between a pizza shop and a second-hand clothing store, owner Mason Odle says vape stores have received little guidance on the new law from federal or state officials. In fact, he says, most owners saw the news on Facebook.

Odle’s okay with regulation, including raising the age. But he’s seen regulation have unintended consequences.

“I believe regulation is always going to be something that we are going to have to deal with … ” he says. “Consumers need to have a peace of mind of what they’re using and to make sure that it’s safe and is not harmful to them. I think that regulations to a point can be very restrictive and we’ve gone through that in the state of Indiana.”

A few years ago, Indiana passed legislation to regulate the sale and manufacturing of e-cigarette products to make it safer.

But only one company qualified under stringent restrictions and it created a monopoly. And parts of that law were eventually struck down by a federal court.

Odle is concerned about all the proposed new restrictions, including the FDA’s ban on certain devices with flavors. “And now, I feel like we’re sort of in the same situation.”

What’s Next?

Now that the federal age limit has taken effect, some health advocates want more.

Bryan Hannon from the Indiana chapter of the American Cancer Society says they’re currently working with state lawmakers. “We’re going to have to take it a few steps further if we want to actually comprehensively and effectively address the problem.”

He says these extra steps include stricter penalties for retailers that sell e-cigarettes or tobacco products to people under 21.

This story was produced by Side Effects Public Media, a news collaborative covering public health.