WPRO Newsroom and the Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Gov. Lincoln Chafee has vetoed legislation to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to children, saying the way it was written would have exempted e-cigarettes from laws governing tobacco products.
In his veto message on Wednesday, Chafee said children should not be allowed to buy electronic cigarettes. But he said the legislation would have defined them as "vapor products," so they would not be subject to the regulation, enforcement, licensing and taxation laws that govern tobacco.
The legislation was pushed by Democratic Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio (ruh-JEER'-ee-oh), who said when he introduced it that it was modeled on a bill introduced in Wyoming. He said at the time that getting kids hooked on nicotine through a so-called e-cigarette is no better than getting them started on regular cigarettes.
