BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 216
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
216 (Cristina Garcia) - As Amended April 13, 2015
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|Policy |Governmental Organization |Vote:|20 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill prohibits the sale of any device intended to deliver a
nonnicotine vapor product to a person less than 18 years of age.
The bill specifies fines for violations of $500, $1,000, and
$1,500 for the first, second, and third and subsequent
violations, respectively, and exempts the sale of drugs and
medical devices that have been approved by the federal Food and
Drug Administration.
FISCAL EFFECT:
AB 216
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Minor nonreimbursable local law enforcement costs, offset to a
limited degree by fine revenue.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, current law only prevents
minors from purchasing vaping and electronic cigarette devices
with nicotine cartridges. This bill prohibits the sale of
nonnicotine vaping products to anyone under the age of 18.
Nonnicotine vaping products can include cannabis and other
herbal substances, and the vaporizers can later be used with
nicotine cartridges. The author asserts these nonnicotine
vaping products are often targeted towards kids with sweet
flavored compounds, and as a result, the number of children
using vaping products has grown considerably since 2009.
2)Candy Cancer? Although they do not contain nicotine, vaping
compounds have been shown to contain other harmful,
potentially carcinogenic chemicals. The Department of Public
Health's (DPH) January 2015 report on electronic cigarettes, A
Community Health Threat, stated the aerosol compounds used in
vaping products were found to contain at least ten ingredients
known to cause cancer, and that aerosols contained higher
concentrations of certain harmful heavy metals and silicate
particles than are present in traditional cigarettes.
Minors are currently free to purchase and use nonnicotine
vaping products, and retailers have created a wide range of
flavors to appeal to kids, such as gummy bears, kool-aid, and
skittles. In 2014, DPH found that among 8th, 10th, and 12th
graders, electronic cigarette use was 8.7%, 16.2%, and 17.1%,
respectively, while traditional cigarette use was 4.0%, 7.2%,
and 13.6%, respectively. The author claims total vaping by
children has doubled every year since 2009, and vaping
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products can be gateways to future nicotine and tobacco use.
On April 24, 2014, the federal Food and Drug Administration
released proposed regulations on electronic cigarettes,
including a ban on sales to minors. It remains unclear
whether those rules will include nonnicotine vaping products,
they have yet to be finalized.
Analysis Prepared by:Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916)
319-2081