Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Kathy Rapp — chairman of the House Health Committee — to prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes, e-cigars, JUULs and other related vaping products to minors was unanimously approved in the state House on Thursday.

It now moves on to the governor’s desk.

“If the governor cares even one iota about protecting the health and wellness of Pennsylvania’s children, he will sign House Bill 97 into law immediately,” Rapp said. “Touted as harmless by enthusiasts, medical experts continue to warn about the unproven safety claims of vaping products, especially when it comes to the negative effects of nicotine and other deadly toxins on the developing lungs and adolescent brain. There are also growing concerns that vaping leads to dangerous experimentation with recreational marijuana and other potentially lethal substances.”

Updated to reflect the latest terminology used in federal regulations, House Bill 97 would amend the Crimes Code by adding “electronic nicotine delivery systems” (ENDS) to the sections that currently make it illegal to sell tobacco products to minors and, for students, to use such tobacco products on school grounds. The penalties would be the same as the penalties that apply to the sale and use of tobacco products under current law.

“There is no time like the present for the governor to take swift and decisive action by signing this legislation into law to make Pennsylvania the next state to ban the sale of e-cigarettes and all other over-the-counter vaping products to minors,” Rapp said. “Put another way, once House Bill 97 is signed into law it would still be legal to sell e-cigarettes and other vaping products in Pennsylvania – just not to our young people.”