STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2386

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2222

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 2222 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FLAVORED TOBACCO PRODUCTS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to prohibit the sale, offering for sale, or distribution of any flavored tobacco product, including menthol products and electronic smoking devices, within the State beginning on January 1, 2015.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific, The Queen's Health Systems, Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i, REAL: Hawaii Youth Movement Exposing the Tobacco Industry, and numerous individuals.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Food Industry Association; Cigar Association of America, Inc.; Hawaii Smokers Alliance; Aloha Petroleum, Ltd.; ABC Stores; Minit Stop Stores; Volcano Fine Electric Cigarettes; Vaping Dragon; and numerous individuals.

     Your Committees find that public health experts have expressed concerns over the growing popularity of flavored tobacco products.  Youth are attracted to flavored tobacco products because these products are cheap, sweet, and sold in a variety of kid-friendly flavors.  Flavors can mask the natural harshness and taste of tobacco, which makes flavored tobacco products easier to use and increases their appeal among new users.

     Your Committees further find that nationwide, menthol cigarette use among smokers is more common among young people, those aged twelve through twenty-five, than among older age groups.  Hawaii's overall menthol use is higher than any other state, and menthol cigarettes are a popular choice among the State's youth, Asian-Americans, and Native Hawaiians.  Your Committees additionally find that a report from the federal Food and Drug Administration's Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee indicated that menthol cigarettes cause smoking initiation among youth and young adults, lead to greater addiction, and make it more difficult for smokers to quit.

     Your Committees have heard the concerns expressed in testimony about including electronic smoking devices within the flavored tobacco products prohibited by this measure.  It is your Committees' understanding that not all refill cartridges for electronic smoking devices contain nicotine.  Some refill cartridges contain flavor only, although users of electronic smoking devices typically use these flavor cartridges in conjunction with nicotine.  Nicotine is a poison and highly addictive, and your Committees are especially concerned about the potential for increased youth experimentation with electronic smoking devices containing nicotine that could lead to life-long nicotine addiction.

     Although your Committees find that regulation over electronic smoking devices is needed, your Committees acknowledge that this measure may not be the best vehicle to achieve this regulation.  Your Committees find that this measure should be limited to a prohibition on flavored tobacco products, including menthol, but note that regulation of electronic smoking devices will be considered via another measure.

     Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting a definition of "electronic smoking device" and making conforming amendments to the definitions of "component part" and "tobacco product"; and

     (2)  Amending the purpose section for clarity.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Judiciary and Labor that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2222, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2222, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Judiciary and Labor,

____________________________ CLAYTON HEE, Chair

____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair