STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1484

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 940

       H.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 940, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE REGULATION OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to prohibit the use of electronic smoking devices in places where smoking is already prohibited.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, University of Hawai‘i Student Health Advisory Council, American Cancer Society Action Network, Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i, American Heart Association, Hawai‘i Public Health Association, and fifty-six individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from forty-three individuals.

     Your Committee finds that electronic smoking devices have become increasingly prevalent and widely available since their introduction into the United States market.  However, since electronic smoking devices are a relatively new product, their health effects have yet to be thoroughly researched.  Serious questions also remain about the safety of inhaling substances in an electronic smoking device.  Your Committee further finds that electronic smoking devices produce an aerosol that is not merely water vapor.  According to testimony received by your Committee, studies have found that the aerosol produced by electronic smoking devices may contain carcinogens, such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, lead, nickel, chromium, and other hazardous substances cited by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which are associated with a wide range of negative health effects.

     Your Committee additionally finds that the use of electronic smoking devices in traditionally smoke-free areas causes confusion in the enforcement of smoke-free laws, creates distractions in work environments, and renormalizes smoking behavior.  This measure prohibits the use of electronic smoking devices in enclosed or partially enclosed places where smoking is prohibited, which will reduce the likelihood of nonuser exposure to potentially harmful chemicals in electronic smoking devices and help ensure compliance with existing smoking regulations.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 940, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

________________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair