Alabama lawmakers could put a stop to vaping in public places.
House Bill 10 seeks to ban e-cigarettes and vapes from public places, similar to restrictions on cigarette smoking.
This proposal would add electronic cigarettes to the list of items banned under the state's 21-year-old Clean Air Act. Alabama was the last state to adopt the law in 2003. However, Alabama could be in a minority if lawmakers move forward with this legislation. ​
Right now, you can generally vape anywhere in public unless a local city has a rule saying you can’t.
Alabama State Rep. Barbara Drummond of Mobile said she's ready to change that.
“We need to start educating people very early in life about the detriment. We don't know what chemicals are inside of these products," said Drummond.
Alabama State Sen. Gerald Allen, who wrote the bill, knew her passion for this topic and invited her to carry the bill in the house.
Drummond said, “We shouldn't be doing something to make a profit that is going to hurt us in the future, and this is certainly one of those.â€
She added that it's a public health risk for those who don't choose to smoke or be around it.
"We've got to look at this very broadly and look at those who don't have a voice and who are not making a choice to use these products,†said Drummond.
Drummond, who previously passed a vape bill back in 2019 that regulates the sales of vaping products and prohibits sales to anyone under 19, said now that bill will help create funding to enforce this one.
"That particular bill will create about $2.5 million, and it will help us to be able to enforce all of the laws that we do not have on the books," added Drummond.
She said she's worried about the young kids who have access to vapes and e-cigarettes nowadays and says as a lawmaker she feels like it's her duty to protect public health.
Nearly 20 percent of teenagers admitted to vaping in a Drug Watch study last year.
