America is on the verge of introducing a law that states all e-liquid packaging must be childproof. Congress has already agreed on and passed the bill. Once President Obama inks his signature on it, it will become law.
While some manufacturers have provided childproof packaging for their e-liquids for some time, the new law will ensure everyone else falls in line. There have been reports of children getting hold of e-liquids and ingesting them, and while such instances are uncommon, this law should make them even more unlikely.
According to information from the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), there were just shy of 4,000 so-called ‘adverse incidents’ resulting from exposure to e-liquids and e-cigarettes in 2014. This represented a massive increase on the year before.
The UK is already streets ahead
The UK already has stricter laws in place regarding e-liquid packaging, so it’s good to see America finally heading in the same direction. Secure packaging should ensure no child is able to get hold of e-liquid and swallow it in the future.
Of course, it’s still important to ensure e-liquids and e-cigarettes are kept well out of the way of children. Just as smokers would (hopefully) keep cigarettes, lighters and matches out of reach of children, the same should apply to vapers. Young children have yet to develop the realisation that certain things can be potentially dangerous. Keeping vaping equipment up out of reach or in a secure drawer is vital if you want to make sure your children don’t get hold of it.
The Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act, as the new law is now referred to in the US, is much-needed and has been supported by vaping groups. Vaping is not aimed at children of any age; it provides an alternative for smokers who are keen to give up. As such, this law cannot come into force too soon.
