SAN ANTONIO – Packed in bright colors and with a variety of flavors, e-cigarettes don't bear much resemblance to a pack of cigarettes, even if they're intended for the same people: adults.
On January 1, a new state law, House Bill 4758, went into effect banning the sale or marketing of e-cigarette products if the container:
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Depicts a cartoon character imitating a cartoon character aimed at minors
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Imitates the brand or appearance of products marketed to minors
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Contains a symbol used primarily to market products to minors
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Contains an image of a celebrity
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Contains an image that resembles a food product, including candy or juice
Violations are Class B misdemeanors, punishable by fines of up to $2,000 and 180 days in jail.
“Of course, it takes a lot for a state to want to ban or ban sales or restrict the way companies can market or sell things. But if it's so blatant and clear who they're targeting, I'm glad Texas took action in this case,” said Wendy Boaglio Gratereaux, a professor of marketing at UTSA.
The state legislature passed another law that went into effect at the start of the school year requiring students caught with a vape pen to be placed in a disciplinary alternative education program.
Still, two of San Antonio's largest schools, Northside ISD and Northeast ISD, say there have been hundreds of e-cigarette smoking violations in their school districts this school year. And those are just the ones they caught.
Both districts expressed hope that the new law could help curb smoking among students, although they don't believe it's a one-time approach.
“I think that's what we're hoping for, with different pieces coming in, all merging into a bigger whole and the numbers going down,” said Tyler Shoesmith, NEISD executive director of student personnel services.
Kimberly Ridgley, assistant superintendent for holistic child development at NISD, said the district is also trying to help educate students about the long-term health consequences.
“And because we're working on that intervention side, hopefully we'll have some success. I’m optimistic,” Ridgley said.
Gratereaux believes the dividends are likely to be felt over the longer term.
“I mean, look at when we passed laws on cigarettes and smoking. It took decades for this to sink in,” said the marketing professor.
The law also applies specifically to nicotine products, but according to the two counties, most of their vaping violations involved THC — the psychoactive compound found in cannabis.
“If we had thought about it in some way, maybe 20 years ago, that there are students who are using as much marijuana in the bathrooms as these e-cigarettes are in our bathrooms, there would be an outcry in the community,” Shoesmith said.
“At this point, we're not really seeing this big outcry in the community because it seems to be hidden because it's such a fraudulent way to consume nicotine or THC.”
NOTE: In the broadcast version of this story, Kimberly Ridgley's last name was misspelled. The bug has been fixed in this story.
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