Grand Canyon Times

E-cigarettes are among the tobacco products lawmakers in Arizona are seeking to make illegal for anyone under 21.

Republican state Sen. Heather Carter of Cave Creek recently told The Center Square that when the legislature reconvenes early next year she plans to be sponsor a bill that would seek to place regulations on the E-cigarette industry, including requiring that any merchant selling tobacco products be mandated to undergo an annual inspection and license period.

The debate over e-cigarettes has become a national issue in the wake of a number of deaths and hundreds of illnesses tied to vaping, particularly involving young people.

Fellow Arizona state Sen. Martin Quezada (D-Glendale) recently added that he plans to propose legislation that would prohibit the advertisement of products used in vaping near playgrounds, day care facilities and schools.

"These vaping products are marketed to our youth as if they are safe, as if they are cool," Quezada said. "In reality these devices and their chemicals are causing faster rates of addiction as consumption rates grow heavier and heavier."