Bill Text: HI SB2538 | 2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To The Youth Vaping Epidemic.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-03-09 - Referred to HLT/LHE, JUD, FIN, referral sheet 36 [SB2538 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2020-SB2538-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2538 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE YOUTH VAPING EPIDEMIC.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States and in Hawaii. Tobacco use is a serious public health problem that results in loss of life and financial burdens on society and the healthcare system. Annually, $526,000,000 in health care costs are directly attributed to smoking in the State.
The legislature further finds that, while there has been a decline in the use of combustible cigarettes over the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of electronic smoking devices by Hawaii's youth. Between 2011 to 2015, the proportion of youth experimenting with electronic smoking devices increased six-fold among middle school youth and four-fold among high school youth. In 2017, twenty-seven per cent of middle school students and forty-two per cent of public high school students tried electronic smoking devices. Today, sixteen per cent of middle school students and more than a quarter of high school students use electronic smoking devices. Current use of electronic smoking devices by county is even more problematic, with figures exceeding thirty per cent on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai. These rates are higher than the national average, demonstrate a disturbing trend of youth nicotine use, and threaten to undermine the historic decline in combustible cigarette use that has been achieved.
The popularity of electronic cigarettes among youth is especially concerning because these products contain nicotine. The United States Surgeon General noted in the 2016 report titled "E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults" that "[b]ecause the adolescent brain is still developing, nicotine use during adolescence can disrupt the formation of brain circuits that control attention, learning, and susceptibility to addiction."
Use of an electronic smoking device also puts the user at risk for lung injury and even death. Following more than one thousand reported cases of lung injury and eighteen confirmed deaths associated with the use of electronic cigarette or "vaping" products nationwide, in 2019, the department of health issued a health advisory urging everyone to stop vaping.
The legislature further finds that a significant driver to increased youth use of electronic smoking devices is the availability of flavored tobacco products. While a 2009 federal law, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, prohibited characterizing flavors, including fruit and candy flavorings, in cigarettes, it did not ban the use of characterizing flavors in other tobacco products, such as electronic smoking devices. The tobacco industry and electronic smoking device industry have in recent years significantly increased the introduction and marketing of flavored non-cigarette tobacco products for electronic smoking devices.
Adding flavoring to tobacco changes the taste and reduces the harshness of the otherwise unflavored tobacco product, making smoking more appealing and easier for beginners to try and ultimately become addicted. According to a recent survey, eighty-one per cent of youth who have ever used a tobacco product reported that the first tobacco product they used was flavored.
It is no coincidence that the number of electronic cigarette flavors has skyrocketed in recent years, with more than fifteen thousand unique electronic cigarette flavors identified in a 2018 study. Hawaii has experienced the heightened promotion of electronic cigarette products that offer flavors designed to appeal to the State's youth, such as candy, fruit, chocolate, mint, Kona coffee, Maui mango, shaka strawberry, and Molokai hot bread. Additionally, many of the packages are designed to resemble popular candies, such as Jolly Ranchers and Sour Patch Kids. The legislature additionally finds that young people are disproportionately using flavored tobacco products, including menthol. In Hawaii, seventy-eight per cent of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and forty-two per cent of Caucasian adult smokers consume menthol cigarettes. Menthol cigarette use is high among Filipinos as well. Current estimates predict that menthol cigarette smoking will contribute to more than three hundred thousand deaths by 2050.
Given the significant threat to public health posed by flavored tobacco products, including menthol, twenty-six local jurisdictions in four states–-California, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Minnesota--have enacted legislation to prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol. The legislature concludes that Hawaii should also take steps to regulate flavored tobacco products to reduce tobacco-related health disparities and address the youth vaping epidemic.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to prohibit the sale or distribution of all flavored tobacco products in the State. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020.
SECTION 2. Chapter 712, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part IV to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§712- Sale or advertising of tobacco products; remote
retail sales; flavored; nicotine-free.
(1) Beginning January 1,
2021, it shall be unlawful for any retailer or any agents or employees of the
retailer to:
(a) Sell, offer for
sale, or possess with the intent to sell or offer for sale, a flavored tobacco
product;
(b) Mislabel as
nicotine-free, or sell or market for sale as nicotine-free, any e-liquid
product that contains nicotine; or
(c) Market, advertise,
or promote any electronic smoking device in a manner that is designed to appeal
to an individual under twenty-one years of age.
(2) A statement or claim directed to consumers or
the public that the tobacco product is flavored, including text, color, or
images on the tobacco product's labeling or packaging that is used to
explicitly or implicitly communicate that the tobacco product has a flavor other
than tobacco made by a retailer or manufacturer or an agent or employee of the retailer
or manufacturer in the course of the person's agency or employment, is prima
facie evidence that the tobacco product is a flavored tobacco product.
(3)
Any flavored tobacco product found in
the retailer's possession that is in violation of this section shall be considered
contraband, promptly seized, subject to immediate forfeiture and destruction
and shall not be subject to the procedures set forth in chapter 712A.
(4) For the first offense, any retailer that violates
this section may be fined not more than $500 and any agent or employee of the
retailer who knowingly violates this section may be fined not more than $500. Any subsequent offenses shall subject the offender
to a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $2,000. Each flavored tobacco product in the retailer's
possession shall be considered a separate violation of this section. All fines shall be paid to the department of health
and deposited into the Hawaii tobacco prevention and control trust fund established
pursuant to section 328L-5.
(5) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary,
any county may adopt a rule or ordinance that places greater restrictions on
the access to flavored tobacco products than provided for in this section. In the case of a conflict between the
restrictions in this section and any county rule or ordinance regarding access
to flavored tobacco products, the more stringent restrictions shall prevail.
(6) For the purposes of this section:
"Distinguishable" means
perceivable by either the sense of smell or taste.
"Electronic smoking
device" has the same meaning as defined in section 712-1258(7).
"E-liquid" means any
liquid or like substance, including heated tobacco products, which may or may
not contain nicotine, that is designed or intended to be used in an electronic
smoking device, whether or not packaged in a cartridge or other container. The term "e-liquid" does not include
prescription drugs; medical cannabis or manufactured cannabis products; or medical
devices used to inhale or ingest prescription drugs, including devices sold at
a licensed medical cannabis dispensary.
"Entity" means one or
more individuals, a company, corporation, a partnership, an association, or any
other type of legal entity.
"Labeling" means
written, printed, pictorial, or graphic matter upon a tobacco product or any of
its packaging.
"Packaging" means a pack,
box, carton, or container of any kind, or if no other container, any wrapping,
including cellophane, in which a tobacco product is sold or offered for sale to
a consumer.
"Retailer" means an
entity that sells, offers for sale, or exchanges or offers to exchange for any
form of consideration tobacco products or e-liquids to consumers. The term "retailer" includes the
owner of a tobacco retail location.
"Tobacco product" has
the same meaning as defined in section 712-1258(7).
"Tobacco retail location" means any premises where tobacco products are sold or distributed to a consumer, including but not limited to any store, bar, lounge, cafe, stand, outlet, vehicle, cart, location, vending machine, or structure."
SECTION 3. Section 328L-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
1. By amending
subsection (a) to read:
"(a) There is established the Hawaii tobacco
prevention and control trust fund as a separate fund of a nonprofit entity
having a board of directors and qualifying under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, into which shall be deposited moneys received
as provided under section 328L-2(b)(2)[.] and section 712- . The director of health with the concurrence
of the governor, shall select, in accordance with law, the entity based upon
the proven record of accomplishment of the entity in administering a similar
trust fund."
2. By amending subsection (e) to read:
"(e) The assets of the Hawaii tobacco prevention and control trust fund shall consist of:
(1) Moneys
appropriated under section 328L‑2(b)(2);
(2) Moneys appropriated to the Hawaii tobacco prevention and control trust fund by the state, county, or federal government;
(3) Private
contributions of cash or property; [and]
(4) Income and capital
gains earned by the trust fund[.]; and
(5) Moneys deposited
into the Hawaii tobacco prevention and control trust fund pursuant to section 712- ."
SECTION 4. Section 712-1258, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (6) to read as follows:
"(6) Any person who violates subsection (1) or (4), or both,
shall be fined $500 for the first offense.
Any subsequent offenses shall subject the person to a fine not less than
$500 nor more than $2,000. Any person
under twenty-one years of age who violates subsection (5) [shall be]:
(a) For the first offense,
shall:
(i) Be
fined $10 for the first offense[. Any];
(ii) Complete
a tobacco education program or a tobacco use cessation program approved by the director
of health; or
(iii) Perform
three hours of community service during hours when the person is not employed and
is not attending school; and
(b) For
any subsequent offense, shall [subject]:
(i) Subject
the violator to a fine of $50, no part of which shall be suspended[,];
or [the person shall be required to perform]
(ii) Perform
not less than forty-eight hours nor more than seventy-two hours of community
service during hours when the person is not employed and is not attending school[.];
provided that if the person is under eighteen years
of age, that person's parent or guardian shall be notified of the offense and given
fifteen days to select which penalty shall be imposed on the person and if no selection
is made within fifteen days, the court shall impose a fine pursuant to paragraph
(a)(i) or (b)(i).
Any tobacco product
or electronic smoking device, as those terms are defined in subsection (7), in
the person's possession at the time of violation of subsection (5) shall be seized,
summarily forfeited to the State, and destroyed by law enforcement following
the conclusion of an administrative or judicial proceeding finding that a
violation of subsection (5) has been committed.
The procedures set forth in chapter 712A shall not apply to this subsection."
SECTION 5. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2020.
Report Title:
Flavored Tobacco Products; Electronic Smoking Devices; Sale; Ban
Description:
Bans the sale of flavored tobacco products. Prohibits mislabeling of e-liquid products containing nicotine. Establishes fines and penalties for violations. Authorizes a court to impose, as a penalty on a person eighteen to twenty-one years of age who is convicted of possession of a tobacco product or electronic smoking device, the requirement to complete a tobacco education program, complete a tobacco use cessation program, or perform community service instead of paying a fine. Requires a parent or guardian of a minor to select from among the penalties for a minor convicted of possession of a tobacco product or electronic smoking device. (SD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
