FONDA - On Wednesday, Montgomery County Executive Matthew L. Ossenfort urged Governor Andrew Cuomo to sign legislation requiring child-resistant packaging on containers of liquid nicotine.
Last week, a I-year-old boy died in Fort Plain, when he accidentally ingested the highly toxic ingredients contained in electronic cigarettes. In the wake of that news, Ossenfort urged the Governor to sign the bill, which passed through the state Legislature in June.
"This is a tragic incident and my heart goes out to the family of this little boy," Ossenfort said. "Steps need to be taken to make sure something like this doesn't happen again. The bill that is before the Governor would certainly make it more difficult for young children to be harmed unintentionally."
The bill that awaits the Governor's signature would also prohibit the sale of liquid nicotine to minors. It is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to anyone under 18, in New York, but there is no law prohibiting the purchase of cartridges and the bottles of liquid nicotine to fill them.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calls to poison control centers about liquid nicotine have jumped astronomically over the past few years, with more than half of the calls dealing with children under six.
A similar bill, the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2014, is currently in front of Congress. That bill would direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require liquid nicotine containers to be packaged in a way that would make it difficult for children younger than five to open or obtain the enclosed substance.
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