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Assembly Passes Historic Tobacco Controls to Save Lives, Protect Kids
March 3, 2016
Save Lives California Contact: Mike Roth
For Immediate Release 916-444-7170
March 3, 2016
Assembly passes historic tobacco controls to save lives, protect kids
Speaker Atkins and Speaker-Elect Rendon show true leadership on vital issues of e-cigarettes, smoking age, smoke free schools and more
SACRAMENTO, CA — Today, the California Assembly approved a package of groundbreaking tobacco regulation bills that will save the lives of thousands of Californians. The bills now move on to the Senate, where they are expected to pass and be signed by Governor Jerry Brown:
- SB 5 X2 by Senator Mark Leno will classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products. This will make them subject to smoke-free laws, age restrictions and other rules governing tobacco products.
- SB 7 X2 by Senator Ed Hernandez will raise the age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21.
- AB 7 X2 by Assemblymember Mark Stone will close loopholes in the state’s smoke free workplace laws.
- AB 9 X2 by Assemblymembers Tony Thurmond and Adrin Nazarian will require all schools to be tobacco free.
- AB 10 X2 by Assemblymember Richard Bloom will allow county boards of supervisors to put tobacco taxes up for local votes.
- AB 11 X2 by Assemblymember Nazarian will establish a tobacco licensing fee program under the state Board of Equalization.
“This lifesaving legislation passed because of the tireless efforts of outgoing Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins and incoming Speaker Anthony Rendon,” said Laphonza Butler, President of the SEIU California and SEIU Local 2015. “They have established a legacy that will live on long after their time in the public service, as thousands of young Californians avoid a lifetime of addiction and illness. Thanks to their leadership, and that of many other legislators who stood up to the tobacco industry, we can renew the progress we have made against the number one cause of preventable death in our state.”
The bills were approved during a special session on healthcare called by Gov. Brown. Each addresses a key means by which young people become addicted to tobacco. For instance:
- E-cigarettes. The percentage of American high school students using e-cigarettes tripled in just one year, from 4.5% in 2013 to 13.4% in 2014. These dangerous devices function as nicotine addiction starter kits and are associated with later smoking.
- Smoking age to 21. The vast majority of smokers started before the age of 21. This is why more than 100 cities around the country have raised their smoking age to 21. California will now join Hawaii as the second state to make this important change.
In November, California voters will get their chance to weigh in on an initiative that will raise California’s cigarette tax by $2 a pack and protect a new generation from addiction by including e-cigarettes containing tobacco in the state’s tobacco tax. California’s tax hasn’t been raised since 1998 and ranks in the bottom third of U.S. states. Tobacco taxes work because if you don’t smoke, you don’t pay. Research shows that for every 10% increase in the cost of a pack of cigarettes, teen smoking drops by up to 6.5%.
The California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016 is backed by Save Lives California, a coalition of health advocates and others that includes the American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the California Medical Association, California Dental Association and philanthropist Tom Steyer. The money raised by the tax will fund healthcare costs and research into cures for cancer and other tobacco related diseases.
Paid for by Save Lives California, a coalition of Doctors, Dentists, Health Plans, Labor, and Non-profit Health Advocate Organizations. Major funding by California State Council of Service Employees Issues Committee and California Hospitals Committee on Issues, (CHCI) Sponsored by California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (CAHHS).
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