HOUSTON – House Bill 4758 officially becomes a law in January 2024.
This legislation would make it a Class B misdemeanor to create packaging or market e-cigarettes to minors.
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A person would commit an offense “if the product‘s container depicts a cartoon-like fictional character that mimics a character primarily aimed at entertaining minors, imitates or mimics trademarks or trade dress of products that are or have been primarily marketed to minors, includes a symbol that is primarily used to market products to minors, includes an image of a celebrity, or includes an image that resembles a food product, including candy or juice,” the bill states.
More than 2.1 million youth use e-cigarettes regularly, according to a 2023 study from the Food and Drug Administration.
Data showed that 1.56 million high school students and 550,000 middle school students vape.
The number of teens using e-cigarettes seems to be trending down from 2022 to 2023, but the numbers are still relatively high. In 2018, Texas officials said there was an ongoing vaping epidemic.
E-cigarettes can affect your body in different ways. Nicotine can harm parts of brain that control attention, learning, and mood.
Vapor particles can also lead to asthma, coughing, and shortness of breath.