A bill that would increase the smoking age to 21 was pulled from the Governmental Organization Committee after the author concluded it didn’t have the votes it needed to pass.
Democratic Senator Mark Leno’s bill to increase rules on electronic cigarettes also ran into trouble. The heart of Leno’s bill was classifying e-cigarettes as tobacco products. But amendments taken in committee would have removed the tobacco classification. Leno said he couldn’t support his own bill in that form.
"But on behalf of the next generation of Californians who will become addicted to nicotine as a result of your vote, recognizing also the bill as it stands now was defeated on the Senate floor. It’s dead on arrival in the Senate," he says. "I no longer believe in it."
Several committee members said they wanted to pass a version of the bill but they weren’t comfortable classifying e-cigarettes as tobacco products.
The bill failed to get a motion for a vote and was held in committee.
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