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casaa cta flavor ban

Hawai’i – Stop a Flavor Ban!

current status

Bill
Introduced

Passed
House

Passed
Senate

Signed by
Governor

02.09.23 – (LGO) Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on CPC with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Kila, Lamosao excused (2).

02.08.23 – Hearing in LGO, 9:30 AM, H. Conference room 309, via Videoconference. (Passed with amendments and advanced to LGO.)

02.02.23 – Re-referred to LGO, CPC, FIN

01.27.23 – Referred to CPC, FIN

01.23.23 – Introduced

HB 551 would ban the sale of any nicotine or tobacco product in flavors other than tobacco. This includes synthetic nicotine and zero-nicotine e-liquids.

HB 551 is scheduled for a hearing on

  • Wednesday, February 8, 2023
  • 9:30 AM (HST)
  • House Labor and Government Operations (LGO)
  • Room 309 / Teleconference.

 

If you would like to submit written testimony, it is due 24 hours prior to the hearing. Make sure you have submitted your comments by 9:30 AM (HST) on Tuesday, February 7.

    • Comment directly on the legislation via the bill page.
      • If you don’t already have one, set up a free account with the legislature’s website by clicking on “Register” at the top of a bill page.
      • Click the “Submit Testimony” button at the top of the bill page. You will be taken to an instructions/look-up page. Enter the bill number (HB 551) in the field provided, click “continue,” and fill out the submission form. You can write your comments in the field provided or upload pre-written testimony. (Talking points are provided below if you need some ideas.)
  • Written testimony is due 24 hours prior to the hearings.
  • Send an email to the full committee using the form provided on this page.
  • Sign up to speak (requires submission of written testimony) following the same instructions above for submitting testimony.
  • Urge committee members to oppose the flavor ban bill 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.
  • HB 551 would ban flavored products already authorized for sale by the FDA as less harmful than smoking and appropriate for the protection of public health.
  • 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 shop out-of-state, in neighboring cities, or online? Will you make your own e-liquid at home or purchase products on an underground market?).
  • 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 are effectively priced out of the authorization process.

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.

Hawai’i’s flavor ban would undermine any decision by the FDA allowing 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.

Did you see CASAA's alert about new taxes on vapor products in HI?

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