DENVER — On the first day of the legislative session, the first bill proposed in the House of Representatives focused on teens, tobacco and nicotine.
House Bill 20-1001 aims to raise the age to buy cigarettes, tobacco and nicotine, including vaping products, to 21 years old.
"We want to keep these product[s] out [of] teens' hands, kids' hands," said Democratic Rep. Kyle Mullica.
Democrats and Republicans drafted this bill together that on the surface seems to repeat what the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) already did in December, which implemented the same age restrictions on these kinds of products.
Republican Rep. Colin Larson, who is also sponsoring this bill, said while he applauds the move by the FDA, he also said it's important to make sure there are enforcement mechanisms in place in Colorado.
"Tackle this crisis ravaging our high schools, quite frankly," said Larson.
Larson said it would create a uniform set of laws instead of the patchwork of rules around Colorado right now about who can and cannot buy nicotine products.
The bill proposes to enforce the age restrictions by setting up a new license that store owners would have to get through the state to sell nicotine products. That goes for both existing and new businesses.
The idea is that the license could be revoked or the store owner could face fines if they don't follow the proposed new law.
The state would also crack down on online sales, particularly for vaping.
"What we're saying is online retailers won't have that license to sell their products online," said Mullica. "Those licenses will only go to brick and mortar stores in Colorado."
The bill said the only way to order online is if it's shipped to a brick-and-mortar store.
This particular component caught the attention of the Rocky Mountain Smoke-Free Alliance, which represents small business vaping shops in Colorado.
They support the age restrictions because they know some teenagers have been reselling vaping products.
"There are a lot of 18-year-olds in high school making a tidy little business out of vape products and reselling them to underage peers at school," said Amanda Wheeler, the vice president of the alliance. "We believe the age increase will create some distance from minors in high school and those legally able to buy the product."
However, Wheeler said she is worried the limitations on online sales could impact the wrong set of people.
"Deeply concerned about that portion of the bill primarily," said Wheeler. "There are a lot of rural Coloradans that don't necessarily have easy access to brick-and-mortar retail locations to buy products."
Larson said they are still getting input from stakeholders, including businesses. Larson said they don't want business owners who've been following the existing rules to get in trouble if the rules change. That includes a provision in the bill that prohibits businesses who sell these products from opening their doors within 500 feet of a school.
Larson said existing businesses would be grandfathered in so they don't have to shut down.
Erin Seedorf — a professor with Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) who's worked with the state health department as well as University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus in this field — said policy like this can work.
"We know the brain is developing all the way up into mid-20s [to] around 25," she explained about the effects of early tobacco and nicotine use. "It can affect the way their brain is developing at that stage."
She said right now there are over 20 states that have raised the age to buy these products to 21 years old.
The bill is expected to be assigned to committee in the next few weeks.
9NEWS reached out to the Colorado Retail Council and they said it was too early in the process to provide a comment. 9NEWS also reached out to the Tobacco Merchants Association, but they did not respond to a request for comment.
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