Bill Regulating Vape Shops Passes Senate Committee

Business owners in Indiana’s vaping industry – making and selling liquids for e-cigarettes – say despite all the work that’s gone into legislation regulating e-liquids, proposed requirements are still too strict.  A Senate committee Wednesday unanimously approved the bill.

Hartford City Republican Rep. Kevin Mahan’s bill includes several regulations vape shop owners say they’re comfortable with – prohibiting sales to anyone under 18 years old, ensuring e-liquids are prepared in rooms that are up to commercial food preparation standards, requiring tamper-proof safety caps. 

But there are other provisions they say go too far, including one that requires them to store three samples of each mixture they create.  Indianapolis vape shop owner Shawn Anderson says that requirement would bankrupt him.

“With the amount of samples that I would have to save, because we do batches as small as six milliliters, it would cost me over $1.2 million per year,” Anderson said.

Mahan says he’s had discussions with vape shop owners throughout session and looks forward to continuing that dialogue.