Lawmakers Move Reluctantly To Scale Back Some Vaping Regulations

Indiana lawmakers are moving – reluctantly – to scale back labeling requirements for manufacturers of substances used in vaping, called e-liquids.

The General Assembly created regulations for e-liquid manufacturers and retailers in 2017, such as requiring tamper-proof packaging and labeling. Now, proposed legislation would eliminate some of the labeling requirements. That includes scrapping a rule that every e-liquid container have an identifiable, trackable product code.

Michael Wilson sells vaping supplies. He says the code is a useful tool.

“Especially as a small business owner, having a permit number right there to ensure compliance, that we know what we’re putting on our shelf is compliant,” Wilson says.

Sen. Randy Head (R-Logansport) agrees. He wrote the 2017 bill – and he’s the author of this year’s measure, too. He says new federal rules limit what individual states can require of e-liquid manufacturers.

“Those were important when we wrote that bill. I argued at the time that they were necessary and I still wish that they could be there," Head says. "But they can’t.”

Head’s bill easily cleared the Senate Public Policy Committee.