• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Electronic cigarettes should be kept out of the hands of minors, a South Dakota legislative panel decided Monday.
• E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that resemble traditional cigarettes. They heat a liquid solution, creating vapor that users inhale to get nicotine without the smoke of regular cigarettes.
• "Today, South Dakota law is not clear on how these products can be sold or who can purchase them," said Sen. Dan Lederman, R-Dakota Dunes, the measure's main sponsor. "I think we can all agree that e-cigarettes are an adult product."
• The bill, which next goes to the full Senate, would classify e-cigarettes containing nicotine as tobacco products that cannot be sold to or used by anyone younger than 18. Anyone selling electronic cigarettes to minors could be charged with a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.
• The State Affairs Committee voted 8-1 to pass the measure after Lederman said e-cigarettes sales have doubled nationally in the past year. An American Cancer Society study found that 10 percent of high school students have used the devices, he said.
• "The vapor can be flavored like fruit and candy, which obviously has an appeal to youth," Lederman said.
• Advocates of e-cigarettes said they can help smokers quit tobacco, but some health advocates contend the inhalers can get young people hooked on nicotine just like cigarettes.
• "We need to make sure South Dakota is very clear that e-cigarettes should not be sold to children," Lederman said.
• The bill would require merchants to place e-cigarettes behind a counter, and the product could be sold only in vending machines located in areas off limits to minors.
• At least 27 states have passed legislation prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a bipartisan group that aids state lawmakers
• State Health Secretary Doneen Hollingsworth said her agency helped rewrite Lederman's bill to mesh with existing law and keep e-cigarettes away from minors.
• The bill also was supported by lobbyists for the American Cancer Society, the

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