Should Liquid Nicotine For E-Cigarettes Have Child Safety Packaging? (S. 142)

What is S. 142?

(Updated March 23, 2021)

This bill was enacted on January 28, 2016

This bill would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to create a rule to mandate child safety packaging on liquid nicotine containers. For all you non-smokers out there, liquid nicotine is the stuff in e-cigarettes. The packaging would be designed to be hard to open for children under five years old — thereby protecting them exposure.

The CPSC rule would become the standard applicable to household substances under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 (PPPA) — joining the ranks of products like aspirin, furniture polish, and sulfuric acid. 

Argument in favor

Requiring liquid nicotine to be in child safety packaging is not only relatively cheap to implement, but will protect children from accidental poisonings.

Argument opposed

People with liquid nicotine for e-cigarettes should be more careful about storing it in a safe place. That would solve the problem without having to involve Congress.

Impact

People who use liquid nicotine, children around them, e-cigarette and e-liquid manufacturers and distributors, and the CPSC.

Cost of S. 142

A current CBO cost estimate is unavailable. However, a CBO estimate done on an essentially identical bill in November 2014 found that implementing this legislation would cost about $1 million between 2015-2019. This amounts to about $200,000 per year for that period.

Additional Info

Of Note:

The American Association of Poison Control Centers has reported an increase in exposure to e-cigarette devices and liquid nicotine, with about half of the nearly 4,000 incidents in 2014 effecting children.

Nicotine poisoning can cause nausea and vomiting, hypertension, dizziness, and seizures, and can be potentially toxic. In fact, in December 2014, the first child death linked with accidental liquid nicotine exposure was reported. Nicotine doesn’t require ingestion to cause a person to become ill, as skin contact can have the same effect.

In Depth:

A nearly identical bill was introduced during the last session of Congress, and while it was reported favorably by the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, it failed to receive a vote in the Senate.

The Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970, which established standards for child-proof packaging, is estimated to have reduced child deaths from accidental poisoning by about 24 per year.

Media:

Sponsoring Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Press Release

American Association of Poison Control Centers (Context)

CBO Estimate (Previous version)

New York Times (Context)