The state Senate approved on Thursday, Aug. 27, six tobacco regulation measures that would raise the smoking age in California from 18 to 21 and restrict e-cigarette usage in a variety of public areas.
Thursday’s vote marks the second time in three months that California’s Senate has advanced measures boosting the smoking age and restricting e-cigarettes. The package of legislation also expands on tobacco bans in schools and workplaces.
“We cannot continue to sit by while these tobacco companies continue to poison generation after generation with their addictive products,” said Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina), who pushed for the bill supporting the increase in smoking age, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Behind the legislation restricting e-cigarettes was Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who revived an earlier measure during a special health care session. Leno’s proposal came in part as a response to a federal finding last year revealing that use of e-cigarettes among teenagers has multiplied three times in the last couple of years.
“This is important because the fastest growing segment of the e-cigarette market is middle and high school students,” Leno told his colleagues, pointing out that 11 other states, including Colorado and Minnesota, possess similar laws, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The bills passed mostly along partisan lines, although Republican Sen. Jeff Stone of Temecula and Democratic Sens. Cathleen Galgiani of Stockton and Richard Roth of Riverside joined their colleagues on opposite parties for certain measures.
“They are going after the kids, and that’s where I have to draw the line,” Stone said in support of the e-cigarette regulation bill.
Opponents of the legislation argue that if Californians are allowed to join the military at 18 years old, they should be permitted to decide if they wish to smoke.
“These people are adults who are willing to put their life on the line for their country and they ought to be able to go buy a pack of cigarettes if they want to,” said Pete Conaty, a lobbyist for the American Legion, according to the Times.
Among lawmakers, Sen. Joel Anderson (R-Alpine), spoke against a measure by Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) that would allow local governments to impose their own taxes on tobacco.
“If we want to ban cigarettes, let’s just ban them,” he said. “This slow approach makes no sense to me.”
Anderson argued that allowing local governments to increase levies on tobacco would probably discourage smoking and cause a drop in California’s tobacco revenues.
“I think we have to be very careful that we don’t kill the golden goose,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
The tobacco industry has contested the regulation legislation, arguing that e-cigarettes are safer since they use vapor rather than combustible tobacco. The industry also notes that the products are often used by smokers working toward eliminating the habit.
The bills now head to the Assembly where they face an uncertain future. In the past, a committee shelved previous Senate legislation.
Along with the six-bill package, a separate measure to increase the to tobacco tax by $2 a pack is supported by Save Lives California, a coalition whose members include the American Cancer Society, American Lung Assn., California Medical Assn. And Service Employees International Union.
Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), who is sponsoring the bill, noted that the state’s tobacco tax of 87 cents per pack ranks California 33 in the country, falling behind New York, which tacks a $4.35 tax per pack.
Federal tax on each pack of cigarettes is $1.01.
Pan said he knows convincing Republicans to back a tax raise will not be easy, but said he believes a tobacco tax is a “win-win” for taxpayers as it would simultaneously boost revenue and decrease costs, Mercury News reported.
“It’s time to step away from the rhetoric and look at the facts,” Pan said, Mercury News reported. “But if my colleagues refuse to support this, we’ll take it to the ballot. The people will pass this.”
In addition to the passage of the six bills, a new Field Poll on Thursday found that two-thirds of California voters support a $2 tobacco tax increase. The survey sampled 1,555 registered California voters and was conducted via phone from June 25 to July 16. Most interviews were done in English, but were also conducted in Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Hindi.
Another bill approved Thursday by the Senate would permit the California Board of Equalization to charge a $265 licensing fee to tobacco retailers annually instead of a one-time $100 fee. The board would also be allowed to raise the annual license fee assessed on tobacco distributors from $1,000 to $1,200, the Times reported. (With reports from Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News and the Associated Press)
