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Utah could begin requiring licenses to sell e-cigarettes — which could allow the state to impose greater punishments on stores that sell them to underage youth.

The House Law Enforcement Committee on Thursday passed HB415 on a 10-1 vote, and sent it to the full House. It is the latest move in a four-year debate on how to regulate electronic-cigarette sales.

This time, Rep. Paul. Ray, R-Clearfield, sponsor of the bill, is proposing to require licenses to sell e-cigarettes. If a store already has a license to sell tobacco products, that would also cover e-cigarette sales. The state would also offer a $30 license to retailers that sell only e-cigarettes, with renewals costing $25.

With licenses, "After the third offense, they can have their license revoked or they can be restricted for a certain amount of days from selling tobacco products for selling to minors. So there actually is finally some teeth" in enforcement, Ray said.

Under current law, all the state can do is "cite the clerk for a misdemeanor for selling to a minor," Ray said. "There is nothing we can do to the shop."

The bill would also impose some labeling and packaging requirements, including showing how much nicotine content is in e-cigarette juice and requiring that it be sold in child-resistant containers.

Ray noted that a survey of youth in Weber County showed 20 percent use e-cigarettes.

"It's a major problem. Tobacco companies realize they've got a product that they are killing their clientele," Ray said. "In the next 20 years, if they don't addict a new generation to a tobacco product, they are going to go out of business. So this is the reason this is being marketed toward children."

Rep. Ed Redd, R-Logan, a doctor, said, "Nicotine is probably the most addictive substance there is," and using e-cigarettes "leads kids down the pathway to addiction." He added, "This is a big deal."

Most agree that using ecigarettes ­— or vaping — is a healthier choice than smoking because of the tar and other carcinogens that smoke carries into the lungs.

But the dispute continues over whether vaping is harmless. The Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration say there has not been enough long-term research on e-cigarettes to know the health effects or whether they are a gateway to tobacco.