Florida Law Bans Nicotine Devices Marketed to Kids

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo by Nery Zarate on Unsplash

Vapes, e-cigarettes, and other nicotine dispensing devices are too “attractive to minors”, according to the Attorney General. The goal of House Bill 1007 is to ban the devices that market too much toward children and to create a directory for all of the prohibited devices.

Effective as of October 1, 2024, this law gives the Attorney General the authority to make this directory, which considers seven criteria to determine whether each device is too appealing to kids. 

The seven criteria are as follows:

• Data, surveys, and other information that points to a particular device being used by minors more often than other devices
• Reports, complaints, and intelligence provided by minors, parents, law enforcement officers, teachers, school boards, school employees, retailers, and other officials in the industry regarding minors’ use of specific devices 
• Product design that appeals to minors, including likeness of a food item, bright colors, cartoon characters, easy use, and so on
• Utilization of “actual intellectual property” related to favored food items among minors
• Accounts of any physical injuries incurred by minors due to a particular device or evidence of a particular device’s danger to children
• If the device’s manufacturer filed a premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) for the device in a timely manner according to code
• Whether the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decides that the risks the device poses to minors is greater than the benefits of the device​

Based on these factors, if a device is deemed too attractive to children, then it must be removed from the market. Open-style device systems that involve the consumer filling “a vial or other containers with a nicotine solution are exempt from the provisions of the bill”.

In addition, tobacco products that were actively on the market by August 8, 2016, had to submit a PMTA to the FDA by September 9, 2020, to be grandfathered in and proceed to market the product legally.

Devices containing nicotine not derived from tobacco, including synthetic nicotine, need a marketing order from the FDA as well. This order, or authorization, is not applicable to pre-existing tobacco products that were marketed commercially within the United States by February 15, 2007.

The FDA can issue a marketing order or deny a nicotine dispensing device and bar it from being marketed after reviewing the PMTA. Devices that have received a marketing order from the FDA are not impacted under this law.

Contingent on the above information, the Department of Legal Affairs, or the Office of the Attorney General, is then able to put together and keep up a directory of the devices that are deemed too appealing to children. 

Each device regarded as such by the Attorney General will then undergo review as according to the Administrative Procedure Act. The directory will also be made available to the general public for inspection by January 1, 2025. 

If included in the directory, a device will be legally considered contraband and seized as according to the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act. The company who owns the product will have 60 days to sell off the remaining units and ultimately discontinue the item or face a fine of $1,000. 

In a similar vein, this law also increases the penalty for selling or giving a nicotine product of any kind to anyone under 21 years of age. After a second violation, individuals caught doing so will now be charged with a third degree felony instead of a first degree misdemeanor. 

Previously, the first degree misdemeanor charge for this crime was punishable by up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine at the most. Now, the third degree felony charge for this crime is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine at the most.

House Bill 1007 was originally prepared by the Regulated Industries Committee, filed on December 22, 2023; and voted through in the Senate and House with votes of 39-0 and 105-5, respectively. It was presented to Governor DeSantis on April 25, 2024, and he approved it on April 26, 2024.

For complete details on this new law, click here to read all 15 pages of House Bill 1007. For the official summary, click here.
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Article by Ema Tibbetts