State Call to Action
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HAWAI’I – Flavor Ban Vetoed (HB 1570) [Concluded]
- February 23, 2022
current status
Bill
Introduced
Passed
Joint
Committee
Passed
Conference
Committee
Signed by
Governor
07/12/22 – Vetoed – OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR NEWS RELEASE: GOVERNOR VETOES 28 OF 30 BILLS ON INTENT TO VETO LIST
05/27/22 – HB 1570 added to Goveronor’s “Intent to Veto List.”
05/03/22 – House agrees to Senate amendment(s), Passed final reading as amended in SD2
04/07/22 – CPN/WAM Committees vote unanimously to pass. HB 1570 will move to conference committee with a final decision expected during the week of 4/25.
04/04/22 – Public decision making scheduled in CPN/WAM committees on Thursday, April 7, 10:00 AM
04/01/22 – Committees on CPN and WAM “deferred” the measure.
03/15/22 – Senate: The committee(s) on HTH/EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-18-22 1:31PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.
03/04/22 – Received in the Senate from the house following a vote on Mar. 3.
02/22/22 – Bill scheduled to be heard by CPC on Thursday, 02-24-22 2:00PM in House conference room 329 Via Videoconference.
02/18/22 – Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on CPC with Representative(s) Gates, McKelvey, Quinlan, Todd voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) D. Kobayashi, Kong, McDermott voting no (3) and Representative(s) Eli, Kapela excused (2).
02/18/22 – Reported from HHH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 663-22) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to CPC.
02/10/22 – The committees on HHH recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamane, Tam, Gates, Har, Kapela, Nishimoto; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Ward.
02/07/22 – Hearing ,HHH Committee, Thursday, 02.10.22, 9:00 AM
01/21/22 – Introduced, Pass First Reading.
HB 1570 has been vetoed by Governor Ige.
This Call to Action is concluded. THANK YOU! to everyone who participated by making contact with your officials.
- Urge Governor Ige to veto HB 1570, which would restrict your ability to use low-risk alternatives to smoking and send people back to smoking or to buy their vapor products from informal sources.
- Briefly, share your story about switching to vaping and what role that flavors play in helping you live smoke free.
- Note any health changes you’ve experienced.
- Briefly, discuss what losing access to a local supply of vapor products will mean for you (Will you make your own e-liquid at home or purchase products on an underground market, etc.?).
- Be brief, Be kind, and Say Thank You 🙂
For those new to vaping or just generally unfamiliar with federal regulations, the premarket tobacco application (or PMTA) deadline was September 9, 2020. This application is required to keep or bring new tobacco/nicotine products on the market. It is estimated that 95% to 98% of vapor manufacturers will not be able to afford this process and will not be capable of filing on time.
But 98% is not 100% (as the antis are fond of saying).
The FDA has already approved some new tobacco products that are being sold in flavors other than tobacco (specifically mint, menthol, and wintergreen). In the weeks prior to the September deadline, the FDA accepted for review several applications for bottled e-liquid in flavors ranging from tobacco to cereal to fruit. Despite the rhetoric from certain members of congress and the incessant pro-drug war drum beat of tobacco prohibitionists, FDA is still capable of authorizing flavored smoke-free nicotine products for market. Moreover, FDA may even allow manufactures of these products to market them as safer than cigarettes, if they apply for and receive a modified risk order.
HB 1570–and other flavor ban proposals–would undermine any decision by FDA to allow low-risk flavored tobacco products on the market after having met the “appropriate for the protection of public health” standard. Even without involving the FDA, flavor bans are being enacted without thorough consideration of the negative consequences. Sales data from Massachusetts and New York suggest that many people who were vaping prior to the flavor bans simply returned to smoking.
While a flavor ban may amount to an inconvenience for teens experimenting with substance use, it is actively harming parents and other adults who are trying to quit smoking.