Senate approves Millett bill to ban e-cigarettes from Maine schools

AUGUSTA — The Maine Senate voted on Thursday in support of a bill submitted by Sen. Rebecca Millett, D-Cape Elizabeth, to ban e-cigarettes from Maine schools. LD 152, “An Act To Prohibit the Possession and Use of Electronic Smoking Devices on School Grounds,” received unanimous support from the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday.

“I’m so glad the Senate has voted to support this bill, which updates our laws to better protect Maine children,” said Sen. Millett, who is chair of the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. “I submitted this bill after middle school students told me about how worried they are about e-cigarette use among their peers. When our kids ask for our help, it’s our job to act.”

LD 152 includes in the prohibition against tobacco use in elementary or secondary schools the possession of an electronic smoking device, including but not limited to electronic cigarettes, electronic cigars, electronic hookahs or vape pens.

Although federal law prohibits selling e-cigarettes to minors, including most school-age children, students can easily purchase e-cigarettes online or acquire them through other means. In 2018, the FDA released a statement saying that e-cigarette use among U.S. teens had reached an epidemic level. Countless studies have found that nicotine is highly addictive; additionally, teenagers are more likely to develop a nicotine addiction because their brains are still developing.

The bill faces further votes in the Maine Senate and House.