Testimony of the Department of the Attorney General Thirtieth Legislature, 2020
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TESTIMONY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020 ON THE FOLLOWING MEASURE: H.B. NO. 2457, H.D. 2, RELATING TO THE YOUTH VAPING EPIDEMIC. BEFORE THE: HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE DATE: Tuesday, February 25, 2020 TIME: 12:30 p.m. LOCATION: State Capitol, Room 308 TESTIFIER(S): Clare E. Connors, Attorney General, or Delanie D. Prescott-Tate, Deputy Attorney General Chair Luke and Members of the Committee: The Department of the Attorney General offers the following comments on this bill. The bill seeks to address the significant risks to public health caused by the rapidly growing use of electronic smoking devices and e-liquids in Hawaii, especially among the youth. The bill seeks to establish a safe harbor for disposal of electronic cigarettes by persons under twenty-one years of age; allows public school teachers or educators to confiscate an electronic smoking device found in the possession of a student under twenty-one years of age; establishes the offense of sale or advertising of tobacco products within the Hawaii Penal Code; and amends section 712-1258(6), Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), by increasing the available sentencing options for violating the criminal offense of selling or furnishing tobacco products to persons under twenty-one years of age. The Department of the Attorney General recommends that the term "heated tobacco products" be stricken from the definition of "e-liquid" on page 9, lines 3 to 4, because "heated tobacco products" are already included in the definition of "cigarette" under section 675-2(d), HRS (2016), and therefore are already regulated. Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments. HB2457-HD2_ATG_02-25-20_FIN_Comments DAVID Y. IGE DR. CHRISTINA M. KISHIMOTO GOVERNOR SUPERINTENDENT STATE OF HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION P.O. BOX 2360 HONOLULU, HAWAI`I 96804 Date: 02/25/2020 Time: 12:30 PM Location: 308 Committee: House Finance Department: Education Person Testifying: Dr. Christina M. Kishimoto, Superintendent of Education Title of Bill: HB 2457, HD2 RELATING TO THE YOUTH VAPING EPIDEMIC. Purpose of Bill: Beginning 1/1/2021: bans the sale of flavored tobacco products; prohibits mislabeling of e-liquid products containing nicotine; and establishes fines and penalties for violations. Requires the Department of Education to establish a safe harbor program by which persons under 21 years of age may dispose of electronic smoking devices in their possession. Requires public school teachers and educators to confiscate electronic smoking devices. Increases fines for the purchase or possession of tobacco products and electronic smoking devices by persons under 21 years of age. Authorizes a court to impose, as a penalty on a person 18-21 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. Effective 7/1/2050. (HD1) Department's Position: The Department of Education (Department) appreciates the intent and offers comments and concerns on HB 2457, HD2. There is a zero-tolerance for tobacco products and electronic smoking devices (ESDs) on the Department’s campuses, transportation, and/or during Department school-sponsored activities. In addition, any tobacco product(s) or ESDs found in a student’s possession is a violation of Chapter 19, and shall be seized by school administration and forfeited to law enforcement in accordance with Section 712-1258, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS). Nicotine products, including ESDs, are considered an acutely toxic hazardous waste under the state’s regulations. The regular and timely pick-up and disposal of ESDs are essential in ensuring schools do not harbor and store hazardous waste on their school campus. This bill may inadvertently oppose the actions of the Department’s highest priority which is the safety and well-being of students. As such, the Department is working in partnership with the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) to educate youth to make positive decisions about their health. In raising awareness about the risks and dangers of tobacco products and ESDs, the Department’s efforts focus on the following: Providing health education to develop skills that support healthy behaviors; Collaborating with DOH on the collection of Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data on Hawaii’s youth and their usage of tobacco and ESDs; Promoting public awareness through parent letters and flyers of Section 712-1258, HRS, which makes it unlawful for anyone under the age of 21 years of age to be sold, purchase, use, or possess tobacco products and ESDs; and Monitoring students for compliance or violations of Title 8, Chapter 19, Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) Student Misconduct, Discipline, School Searches, and Seizures, Reporting Offenses, Police Interviews, and Arrests, and Restitution for Vandalism, Complaint Procedure and Investigation of Discrimination, Harassment, (Including Sexual Harassment), Bullying and/or Retaliation, as it relates to the use of tobacco products and ESDs. Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony on HB 2457, HD2. The Hawai‘i State Department of Education is committed to delivering on our promises to students, providing an equitable, excellent, and innovative learning environment in every school to engage and elevate our communities. This is achieved through targeted work around three impact strategies: school design, student voice, and teacher collaboration. Detailed information is available at www.hawaiipublicschools.org. DAVID Y. IGE BRUCE S. ANDERSON, PHD GOVERNOR OF HAWAII DIRECTOR OF HEALTH STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH P. O. Box 3378 Honolulu, HI 96801-3378 [email protected] Testimony in SUPPORT of H.B. 2457, H.D. 2 RELATING TO THE YOUTH VAPING EPIDEMIC REPRESENTATIVE SYLVIA LUKE, CHAIR HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE Hearing Date: February 25, 2020 Room Number: 308 1 Fiscal Implications: The Department of Health (DOH) defers to the Department of Education 2 (DOE) for implementation of confiscation, the Department of Taxation (DOTAX) for fiscal 3 implications of implementation, and to the Department of the Attorney General (AG) for fiscal 4 implications for enforcement. 5 Department Testimony: The DOH supports House Bill 2457, House Draft 2 (H.B. 2457, 6 H.D. 2) which makes it unlawful to sell, offer to sell, or possess with the intent to sell or offer to 7 sell any flavored tobacco product, including menthol in the State, and establishes legal 8 responsibilities and fines for retailers, and prohibits the mislabeling of e-liquid products 9 containing nicotine. The DOH offers amendments to Section 3(b) on the confiscation of 10 electronic smoking devices (ESDs) by the DOE. 11 The DOH requests the support of the Finance Committee to prevent more youth in 12 Hawaii from initiating ESD use and becoming dependent on nicotine. Since the 2018 U.S. Food 13 and Drug Administration (FDA) and Surgeon General declaration of the youth e-cigarette 14 epidemic, use among young people continues to rise. By 2019, 27.5% of high school students 15 said they vaped compared to 20.8% in 2018.1 These figures represent a doubling of proportions 16 between 2017 and 2019 for high schoolers (11.7% to 27.5%) and tripling effect for middle 1 Wang TW, Gentzke AS, Creamer MR, et al. Tobacco Product Use and Associated Factors Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2019. MMWR Surveill Summ 2019;68(No. SS-12):1–22. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6812a1 H.B. 2457, H.D. 2 Page 2 of 4 1 schoolers (from 3.3% to 10.5%).2 In total numbers, 4.1 million high school youths and 1.2 2 million middle school youths said they currently use e-cigarettes.3 Hawaii youth in 2017 had 3 amongst the highest ESD rates in the nation, with 25.5% high school, and 15.7% middle school 4 students reporting regular use.4 Adult regular use of e-cigarettes in Hawaii in comparison is 5 4.7%.5 6 Flavors are one of the main reasons that youth use tobacco products, especially 7 e-cigarettes. According to the 2013-2014 Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health 8 (PATH) study, 81% of 12 to 17-year-old teens who had ever used a tobacco product-initiated 9 tobacco use with a flavored product. Additionally, 80% of current users had used a flavored 10 product in the last month.6 In 2019, the large marjority of youth ESD users reported use of 11 flavors with fruit, menthol or mint, candy, desserts, or other sweets being the most commonly 12 used.7,8 According to the same research, mint and menthol went from being among the least 13 popular to among the most popular flavors for high school students over the past four years.9 14 Data from another 2019 study revealed that the most popular flavor among 10th and 12th grade 15 Juul users was mint.10 These data illustrate that trends among youth users of flavored e-cigarette 16 products change quickly and therefore must be swiftly addressed. 2 Cullen KA, Gentzke AS, Sawdey MD, et al. e-Cigarette Use Among Youth in the United States, 2019. JAMA. 2019;322(21):2095– 2103. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.18387 3 Wang TW, Gentzke AS, Creamer MR, et al. Tobacco Product Use and Associated Factors Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2019. MMWR Surveill Summ 2019;68(No. SS-12):1–22. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6812a1 4Department of Health, Hawaii Health Data Warehouse, Indicator-Based Information System, 2017 Hawaii Youth Risk Behavior Survey. 5 Department of Health, Hawaii Health Data Warehouse, Indicator-Based Information System, 2017 Hawaii Behavior Risk Factors Surveillance Study. 6 Ambrose, B. K., Day, H.