Bill Text: HI SB652 | 2014 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Tobacco Products; Electronic Cigarettes; Task Force

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-12-18 - Carried over to 2014 Regular Session. [SB652 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2014-SB652-Amended.html

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THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	652
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO HEALTH.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the tobacco industry spends more than $12,000,000,000 annually on advertising and marketing its products in the United States.  Each year, tobacco companies spend over $42,000,000 promoting their brands in stores throughout Hawaii.  The National Cancer Institute has reported that the total weight of evidence from multiple studies demonstrates a causal relationship between tobacco advertising and promotion and increased tobacco use.

     The legislature also finds that restrictions on mass media advertising of tobacco have forced tobacco companies to use retail venues as the primary medium for marketing.  Storefronts in Hawaii can act as billboards for tobacco companies, effectively capturing the attention of the State's youth.    According to the 2007 Hawaii Youth Tobacco Survey, over seventy-six per cent of high school students and over seventy-one per cent of middle school students reported seeing tobacco product advertisements at local stores and gas stations.  The legislature further finds that the 2008 Tobacco and Alcohol Advertising Survey indicated that on average, a store displayed at least two outdoor advertisements and seventeen indoor advertisements for tobacco.  Small stores with only one cash register had an average of twenty-four advertisements for tobacco and were more likely to have tobacco advertisements and products at the eye level of children or near youth-targeted in products, such as toys, ice cream, and chips.

     The legislature additionally finds that retail stores are given incentives to place tobacco advertisements and products in strategic locations near the cash register, known as a point-of-sale, or in self-service displays.  Research indicates the presence of these products and advertisements may stimulate impulse purchases.  Furthermore, a 2009 study found that frequent visits to stores selling tobacco and a greater awareness of cigarettes sold in stores increased the likelihood of teenagers being susceptible to initiating smoking, experimenting with smoking, or becoming smokers.

     The State has a compelling interest in reducing the number of children and youth in Hawaii who smoke.  The legislature finds that because of the documented connection between children's and youth's exposure to tobacco advertisements and youth tobacco initiation, a task force should be convened to explore potential regulations on the placement and manner of cigarettes and tobacco products and advertisements.

     The purpose of this Act is to reduce the number of children and youth who smoke or begin smoking by:

     (1)  Prohibiting the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors; and

     (2)  Convening the smoking prevention among children and youth task force to develop potential legislation that addresses concerns related to advertising and product placement promoting or encouraging the purchase or use of cigarettes or other tobacco products by children and youth.

     SECTION 2.  Section 709-908, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§709-908  Tobacco; minors.  (1)  It shall be unlawful to sell or furnish tobacco in any shape or form, including chewing tobacco [and], snuff, and electronic cigarettes to a minor under eighteen years of age.

     (2)  Signs using the statement, "The sale of tobacco products to persons under eighteen is prohibited", shall be posted on or near any vending machine in letters at least one-half inch high and at or near the point of sale of any other location where tobacco products are sold in letters at least one-half inch high.

     (3)  It shall be unlawful for a minor under eighteen years of age to purchase any tobacco product, as described under subsection (1).  This provision does not apply if a person under the age of eighteen, with parental authorization, is participating in a controlled purchase as part of a law enforcement activity or a study authorized by the department of health under the supervision of law enforcement to determine the level of incidence of tobacco sales to minors.

     (4)  Any person who violates subsection (1) or (2), 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 minor under eighteen years of age who violates subsection (3) shall be fined $10 for the first offense.  Any subsequent offense shall subject the violator to a fine of $50, no part of which shall be suspended, or the person shall be required to 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.

     (5)  For the purposes of this section:

     "Electronic cigarette" or "e-cigarette" means any mechanical heating element, battery, or electronic circuit that can be used to deliver a vapor of nicotine or any other substances, the use or inhalation of which simulates smoking.  The term shall include any such device, whether manufactured, distributed, marketed, or sold as an e-cigarette; e-cigar; e‑pipe; any cartridge or component of the device or related product; or any other related product name or descriptor.

     "Tobacco" or "tobacco product" includes electronic cigarettes."

     SECTION 3.  (a)  There is established the smoking prevention among children and youth task force within the department of health for administrative purposes.  The purpose of the smoking prevention among children and youth task force shall be to develop potential legislation that addresses concerns related to advertising and product placement promoting or encouraging the purchase or use of cigarettes or other tobacco products by children and youth.  The task force shall also consider:

     (1)  Constitutional concerns associated with the placement of tobacco sales and advertising; and

     (2)  Potential methods or strategies to remove tobacco products and advertisements from the direct eyesight of children and youth.

     (b)  The smoking prevention among children and youth task force shall consist of the following members:

     (1)  The director of health, or the director's designee, who shall chair the smoking prevention among children and youth task force;

     (2)  The attorney general, or the attorney general's designee;

     (3)  The chair of the senate committee on health;

     (4)  The chair of the house committee on health;

     (5)  A representative from the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii;

     (6)  A representative from the University of Hawaii at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law; and

     (7)  Other interested stakeholders who shall be invited to inform the task force about relevant concerns and considerations before the task force.

     (c)  The smoking prevention among children and youth task force shall serve without compensation.  Members of the smoking prevention among children and youth task force representing the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii and other non-governmental stakeholders shall not be considered employees of the State based solely upon their participation on the task force. 

     (d)  The smoking prevention among children and youth task force shall submit a report on its findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2014.

     (e)  The smoking prevention among children and youth task force shall cease to exist on June 30, 2014.

     SECTION 4.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2050.

 

Report Title:

Tobacco Products; Electronic Cigarettes; Task Force

 

Description:

Prohibits the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors.  Requires the Department of Health to convene a task force that addresses advertising and product placement of tobacco in relation to minors.  Effective January 1, 2050. (SB652 HD1)

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.