STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2431

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2688

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2688 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE SALE OF E-LIQUID,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to prohibit, beginning January 1, 2017, the sale or offering for sale of certain e-liquid containers for electronic smoking devices unless the container is child-resistant and, if the container is for an e-liquid product containing nicotine, is labeled with warning language.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center, Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i, VOLCANO Fine Electronic Cigarettes, and Black Lava Vape.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from eight individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from one individual.

     Your Committee finds that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calls to poison control centers across the country related to exposure to nicotine in cigarettes have grown considerably since 2010.  Poison experts warn that concentrated nicotine in liquid form is significantly toxic, even in small doses, as poisonings related to e-liquid containers can occur when nicotine is inhaled or absorbed through the skin or eyes.

     Your Committee further finds that the packaging and use of electronic smoking devices are potentially hazardous to the health of Hawaii residents, including Hawaii's children, yet many liquids for electronic smoking devices are offered in flavors and scents that are appealing to children.  There are currently no packaging requirements for the sale of e‑liquid containers.  Stringent packaging and labeling requirements for e‑liquid containers will protect young children from inadvertent exposure to the contents of electronic smoking device cartridges and also inform consumers whether an e-liquid product contains nicotine, a highly addictive substance.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting additional labeling requirements for e-liquid product packaging;

     (2)  Inserting language that establishes e-liquid packaging standards in the Hawaii Poison Prevention Packaging Act pursuant to chapter 330C, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

     (3)  Expanding the definition of "hazardous substance" as used in the Hawaii Poison Prevention Packaging Act to include e-liquid; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2688, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2688, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health,

________________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair