Prohibits the sale or provision of any quantity of electronic liquid used to refill an electronic cigarette or cartridge; defines "electronic liquid" as any liquid composed of nicotine and other chemicals that is sold for use in electronic cigarettes.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A325
SPONSOR: Rosenthal
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the general business law, in relation
to prohibiting the provision of any quantity of an electronic liquid
 
PURPOSE:
This bill prohibits the sale of e-liquids within the State of New York.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the general business law by adding a new section
391-t.
Section two sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
E-cigarettes have been a point of controversy since their presence in
the New York market. E-cigarettes are battery powered devices that allow
an individual to inhale nicotine while emitting only vapor. The health
effects associated with inhaling the vapor of e-cigarettes are unknown,
however the liquid used to produce the vapor in some e-cigarettes has
been found to be harmful and even deadly to individuals. The liquid in
e-cigarettes has been called "electronic liquids" or "e-liquids", and is
often sold in bottles to be used as a refill solution for electronic
cigarettes and cartridges. E-liquids are a form of liquid nicotine laced
with other chemicals and often flavored. Many e-liquids are made on
factory floors or in the back rooms of shops and, similar to e-cigar-
ettes, are not regulated by the federal government.
E-liquids have been found to be harmful to humans if ingested or simply
upon contact with an individual's skin. Between 2012 and 2013, calls to
poison control centers involving e-liquids have increased by 300
percent, with 1,351 calls in 2013. According to the Syracuse Post Stand-
ard, as of March 2014, 651 calls have been made to poison control
centers regarding e-liquids, with over half of these calls involving
children under 6 years old. It has also been reported that a teaspoon of
highly diluted e-liquids can seriously harm or kill a small child.
According to the New York Times, an individual died after injecting
e-liquids, and another individual in Kentucky was admitted to the hospi-
tal with cardiac problems after her e-cigarette broke and the e-liquid
was absorbed through her skin.
This bill bans the sale of e-liquids sold to refill e-cigarettes and
cartridges in New York State. E-liquids are more dangerous than tobacco
because nicotine in liquid form can be absorbed more quickly even when
diluted. Therefore, forms of liquid nicotine need to be reviewed and
scrutinized more than other tobacco and nicotine products. This legis-
lation brings an awareness of the extreme dangers of these products by
banning them from store shelves with the goal of saving people's lives.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2015-16: A.635 - Referred to Health
2013-14: A.9309-B - Referred to Health; S.6939-B - Passed Senate
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
325
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 5, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting the
provision of any quantity of an electronic liquid
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new
2 section 391-u to read as follows:
3 § 391-u. Electronic liquids or e-liquids; prohibition. 1. No person,
4 firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited liability company
5 or other entity shall sell, offer to sell or give away, for either
6 retail, wholesale or promotional purposes, an electronic liquid or e-li-
7 quid used to refill an electronic cigarette or cartridge. Provided,
8 however, that the commissioner of health may exempt a registered
9 in-state manufacturer of e-liquids from the provision of this section.
10 2. Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited
11 liability company or other entity that violates the provisions of subdi-
12 vision one of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not
13 more than five hundred dollars for each separate violation of such
14 subdivision, to be recovered by any enforcement authority designated by
15 a municipality or political subdivision in which such violation
16 occurred.
17 3. For the purposes of this section, "liquid nicotine", "electronic
18 liquid" or "e-liquid" means a liquid composed of nicotine and other
19 chemicals, and which is sold as a product that may be used in an elec-
20 tronic cigarette, as defined by subdivision thirteen of section thirteen
21 hundred ninety-nine-aa of the public health law.
22 4. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any liquid nico-
23 tine, electronic liquid or e-liquid that is contained in a prefilled,
24 sealed cartridge that is sold, marketed or intended for use in an elec-
25 tronic cigarette, as defined by subdivision thirteen of section thirteen
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01718-01-7
A. 325 2
1 hundred ninety-nine-aa of the public health law, provided that such
2 cartridge is prefilled and sealed by the manufacturer, and not intended
3 to be opened by the consumer.
4 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
5 have become a law.