Dueling smoking bills move through Arizona Legislature

PHOENIX (AP) — There are two competing tobacco and vaping regulation bills at the Arizona Legislature. The winning legislation may emerge soon.

The Senate last week unanimously passed a bill championed by Republican Sen. Heather Carter of Cave Creek that would reclassify vaping products as tobacco and place them under the state's voter-approved Smoke-Free Arizona Act, which bars indoor tobacco use. Carter's plan is backed by health groups including the American Cancer Society and would bar online sales of vaping to minors.

The House refused to sign off on the bill, a requirement because Carter used a procedural move, so a conference committee had to approve the bill. It's now ready for a House vote.

Meanwhile, the competing proposal from fellow Republican Rep. John Allen could come up for a House vote this week with backing from the tobacco and vaping industry and retailers. Allen's bill raises the age to buy tobacco or vaping products to 21. But it also contains a clause barring cities and towns from further regulating tobacco or charging licensing fees to retailers.

Allen said he's tweaking his bill to get needed support and plans to set it for House debate Monday, although it was also set for debate last week. He won't provide details of the changes.

"That's part of negotiating, I don't do it in the press," Allen said Thursday before taking a swipe at Carter. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't do it in the press — my seatmate does."

"I have taken part of the stakeholders group which she would not meet with and have crafted I think a much more workable solution," Allen said. "She is running the cancer society bill, and I am running a compromise bill. I have gotten the industry itself to say, 'We're going to make it harder to sell these products in Arizona.' "

Carter said...