CPSC likely to gain new authority over packaging of some nicotine-containing e-liquid products.

  • The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) currently implements the Poison Packaging Prevention Act of 1970 (PPPA), which requires certain household substances to have packaging that makes it significantly difficult for children under five years old to open within a reasonable amount of time.  The PPPA has been credited with significant reductions in children’s deaths related to the unintentional ingestion of pharmaceutical products.
  • This month, Congress passed the “Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act,” which will extend child-resistant packaging requirements to certain packages of nicotine-containing “e-liquid.”  Specifically, the law applies to “liquid nicotine containers,” defined to include “package[s] from which nicotine in a solution or other form is accessible through normal and foreseeable use by a consumer and that is used to hold soluble nicotine in any concentration.”  Click here for additional details regarding the scope and applicability of the law.
  • Prior to passage of the federal law, several states had already passed legislation requiring child-resistant packaging for e-liquid products, and many responsible manufacturers had already been using such packaging in the marketplace.  A major trade association representing e-liquid manufacturers — the American E-Liquid Manufacturing Standards Association (AEMSA) — has required child-resistant packaging for its members since 2012.  Assuming that the President signs the current bill, it is anticipated that the new legal requirements will be met with support from the industry and from consumers alike.

Keller and Heckman LLP has an active tobacco & e-vapor regulatory practice; for more information about this practice area in general, click here.