Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy is seeking to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors.
Malloy says while the use of the nicotine delivery system has been touted as a way to help some adults stop smoking, it also has been shown to be a gateway for children to start using tobacco.
The e-cigarettes replace tobacco by heating a nicotine-solution into a vapor that is inhaled.
The state and the federal government currently do not regulate the practice, known as "vaping," but 27 other states have banned the sale of e-cigarettes to children.
The governor's bill was approved Tuesday by the legislature's Committee on Children. It also calls for a tiered system of penalties for violations of the state's anti-tobacco laws, starting with a mandatory education program for first-time offenders.
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