January 2016

This week, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015, sending the bill to President Obama for signature into law. The new law requires, for the first time, that liquid nicotine containers used to refill e-cigarettes have child-resistant packaging, similar to other common household products that are dangerous to children like bleach and prescription medications. The legislation was sponsored in the House by Reps. Susan Brooks (R-IN) and Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) and in the Senate, where it passed in December, by Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Bill Nelson (D-FL).

Passage of the legislation is an important victory for child health and safety. In 2014, CDC reported that emergency calls related to poisoning from liquid nicotine rose dramatically from one a month in 2010 to 215 in 2014, with 51 percent of the calls involving children aged 5 and under.