BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 8 X2
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 8
X2 (Wood)
As Amended September 4, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public Health |9-4 |Bonta, Bonilla, |Maienschein, Baker, |
| | |Campos, Eduardo |Mayes, Steinorth |
| | |Garcia, Levine, | |
| | |Santiago, Mark Stone, | |
| | |Thurmond, Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Finance |5-3 |Weber, Bloom, |Melendez, Bigelow, |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, |Obernolte |
| | |McCarty, Ting | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Raises the minimum legal smoking age from 18 to 21;
conforms existing law regarding the purchasing, selling, and
enforcement of tobacco and tobacco products to reflect the new
age limit; and, clarifies that these provisions are not intended
to prohibit a local standard from imposing a more restrictive
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legal age to purchase or possess tobacco products. Deletes
existing penalties applicable when a person under 18 years of
age purchases, receives, or possesses certain tobacco products.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW restricts tobacco sales to minors and
requires states to vigorously enforce their laws prohibiting the
sale and distribution of tobacco products to persons under 18
years of age.
EXISTING STATE LAW:
1)Establishes the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement
(STAKE) Act, which charges the Department of Public Health
(DPH) with developing a program to reduce the availability of
tobacco products to persons under 18 years of age and
specifies that various agencies, including, but not limited
to, DPH, the Attorney General, or local law enforcement
agencies may enforce the STAKE Act.
2)Provides that primary enforcement responsibilities lie with
DPH, and requires DPH to conduct random, onsite sting
inspections with the assistance of 15- and 16-year-olds;
allows DPH to conduct inspections in response to public
complaints; and to investigate illegal sales of tobacco
products to minors by telephone, mail or the Internet.
3)Requires DPH to establish requirements that tobacco retailers
conspicuously post notices at each point of purchase stating
that selling tobacco products to anyone under 18 years of age
is illegal and subject to penalties and that all persons
selling tobacco products must check the identification of a
purchaser who appears to be under 18.
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4)Allows an enforcing agency to assess civil penalties, ranging
from $400 for a first offense to as much as $6,000, against
any person, firm, or corporation that sells, gives, or in any
way furnishes any tobacco, cigarette, cigarette papers, or any
other instrument or paraphernalia that is designed for the
smoking or ingestion of tobacco, based on the number of repeat
offenses within a given period.
5)Requires DPH, after a third, fourth, and fifth violation, to
notify the State Board of Equalization (BOE) of the violation
and for the BOE to then assess an additional civil penalty and
to suspend or revoke the sellers' license for a specific
amount of time, based on the number of violations in a given
period.
6)Prohibits selling, distributing, or giving away tobacco
products through the United States Postal Service or any other
public or private postal or package delivery service, to any
person under the age of 18. Requires a distributor or seller,
before providing any tobacco product through any of these
means, to verify that the purchaser is 18 years or older.
7)Makes selling, giving, or in any way furnishing any tobacco,
cigarette, cigarette paper, or blunts, any other preparation
of tobacco, or paraphernalia designed for smoking tobacco to
anyone under the age of 18 subject to either a criminal action
for a misdemeanor or to a civil action brought by a city
attorney, a county counsel, or a district attorney.
8)Makes it a crime, punishable by a fine of $75 or 30 hours of
community service work, for a person under 18 years of age to
purchase, receive, or possess certain tobacco products.
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FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Finance Committee,
this bill would likely result in an ongoing, annual, cost
increase of several hundred thousand dollars to support the
DPH's expected workload increase associated with enforcement,
inspections and surveying of retailers participating in the sale
of tobacco products (General fund or the Cigarette and Tobacco
Tax Surcharge Fund).
Local governments may incur new costs associated with this bill
related to crimes and infractions. Under the California
Constitution, such costs are not reimbursable by the state.
According to the BOE, assuming Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-17 will be
the first complete year of the measure's impact, total excise
tax and sales tax revenues would decline by $68.4 million for FY
2016-17. Specifically, for FY 2016-17, cigarette excise tax
revenue losses are forecast to be $37.6 million, tobacco
products excise tax losses would be $5.5 million, and related
sales and use tax losses would be $25.3 million.
The BOE notes that this revenue estimate does not account for
any further changes in economic activity that may or may not
result from enactment of the bill.
COMMENTS: According to the author, the health care impacts and
cost to society of tobacco products has been widely documented
and is no longer disputed. The author notes that adolescent
brains are more vulnerable to nicotine addiction, and people who
reach the age of 21 as non-smokers have a minimal chance of
becoming a smoker. The author states that tobacco use results
in increased health care costs and changing the legal age will
positively influence the adoption rate of tobacco use. The
author contends the legal age for tobacco is no more carved in
stone than that of alcohol consumption or voting, both of which
changed when society determined there was compelling evidence or
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need to re-examine those public policies. The author concludes
the evidence and need are clear on the legal age for tobacco and
now is time for us to make this change.
1)Health effects of smoking. Smoking is a major cause of many
deadly health problems heart disease, aneurysms, bronchitis,
emphysema, and stroke. Using tobacco can damage a woman's
reproductive health and hurt babies. Tobacco use is linked
with reduced fertility and a higher risk of miscarriage, early
delivery (2)premature birth), and stillbirth. It is also a
cause of low birth-weight in infants and has been linked to a
higher risk of birth defects and sudden infant death syndrome.
Smoking causes 80% of all deaths from chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, and causes stroke and coronary heart
disease, the leading causes of death in the United States.
Smokers are 30% to 40% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes
than nonsmokers, and people with diabetes who smoke are more
likely than nonsmokers to have trouble with insulin dosing and
with controlling their disease.
Smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the
Unites States, or about one in five deaths. The average
annual smoking-attributable mortality rate in California for
the years 2000-04 was 235 per 100,000. The range across
states is 138.3 per 100,000 to 370.6 per 100,000. California
ranks 6th lowest per capita among all 50 states in deaths
attributed to smoking. If nobody smoked, one of every three
cancer deaths in the United States would not happen.
3)Smoking and youth. California monitors smoking rates among
high school students using the California Student Tobacco
Survey. The 2012 survey showed the percentage of California
high school students who reported smoking a cigarette within
the previous 30 days was 10.5%, or 297,000 students. Smoking
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among high school students in California is declining
consistently and is lower than for the rest of the United
States. Student smoking rates declined 51% from 2000 to 2012;
however, there are substantial differences in student smoking
prevalence when examined by race or ethnicity. While rates
declined for non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics, and Asian/Pacific
Islanders, the rate for African-Americans increased by 15.9%
over this same time period.
4)Youth use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). According
to the January 2015 State Health Officer's report on
e-cigarettes, A Community Health Threat, e-cigarette use is
rising rapidly. In California, use among young adults ages 18
to 29 tripled in one year. The report notes that while the
long-term health impact resulting from use of this product is
presently unknown, it is known that e-cigarettes emit at least
10 chemicals that are found on California's Proposition 65
(1986) list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects,
or other reproductive harm. A study published July 27, 2015,
in the Journal of Pediatrics surveyed almost 2,100 California
high school students, and found that one-quarter had tried
e-cigarettes. Ten percent were currently using e-cigarettes,
and those current users where much more likely than their
peers to also smoke cigarettes. E-cigarettes are currently
defined in California law as products designed to deliver
nicotine or other substances to a user in the form of a vapor.
State law also prohibits anyone from selling or furnishing an
electronic cigarette to anyone under the age of 18.
5)Effect of raising the minimum legal smoking age. A March 2015
Institute of Medicine Report (IOM), Public Health Implications
of Raising the Minimum Age of Legal Access to Tobacco
Products, examined the impacts of raising the legal minimum
smoking age to 19, 21, and 25. The IOM determined that
relative to status quo projected decreases, raising the age to
19 would result in a 3% additional decrease; raising the age
to 21, a 12% additional decrease; and raising the age to 25, a
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15% additional decrease. The IOM concluded that the age group
most impacted by raising the minimum legal age would be 15 to
17 year olds for any of the three ages studied. The IOM
argued that increasing the age for tobacco purchase will
result in delayed use of such products, which in turn will
decrease the prevalence of users. The IOM report stated that
raising the smoking age to 21 would result in 200,000 fewer
premature deaths and potentially millions of years of life
gained for those born between 2000 and 2019. On June 9, 2015,
the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors adopted an
ordinance to raise the purchase age for tobacco and electronic
smoking products from 18 to 21, effective January 1, 2016.
Santa Clara County is the first California county to pass such
an ordinance.
Supporters of this bill, including the American Heart
Association/American Stroke Association, American Cancer Society
Cancer Action Network, the California Academy of Preventive
Medicine, and the California Optometric Association state
tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in
the United States, killing more than 400,000 people each year.
Supporters note 2,800 youth try cigarettes daily, and many use
multiple tobacco products. Supporters point out 90% of tobacco
users take up this dangerous habit before the age of 18, but
almost no one starts after the age of 25. Supporters conclude
raising the legal age for consumption of tobacco products to 21
is predicted to reduce smoking prevalence by 12% and
smoking-related deaths by nearly 10% for future generations.
The Health Officers Association of California states despite its
diminishing prevalence over the last decade, the use of tobacco
continues to threaten public health and drain our state's health
care resources. Considered to be the leading cause of
preventable deaths in the United States, smoking places a heavy
economic burden on California, costing our state billions in
direct and indirect health expenses from smoking-related
illnesses, premature deaths and lost productivity.
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The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) notes that
many 18-year-olds have social networks that include younger
peers since this age group often still attends high school, and
older peers are able to buy and supply tobacco products to their
minor friends. CSAC concludes, by raising the minimum age to
21, the likelihood of mixed-age minors being in the same social
networks decreases, which would likely decrease the chances of
the initiation age occurring before 18.
Several military and veterans' organizations oppose this bill,
including the American Legion-Department of California, the
Military Officers Association of America, California Council of
Chapters, and the Vietnam Veterans of America-California State
Council. The opposition states this bill would be very unfair
to our currently serving men and women stationed in California.
The opposition notes men and women can serve in our military,
putting their lives on the line for the rest of us at age 18,
and they should certainly be allowed to buy a legal product.
The opposition concludes this is not about tobacco, whether
smoking is right or wrong, this is about protecting the rights
of our currently serving military and their dependents from
over-reaching nanny-state laws.
Analysis Prepared by:
Lara Flynn / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097 FN:
0002333
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