SFMS Applauds the California State Senate for Passage of Historic Package of Tobacco Legislation March 10, 2016 Advocacy, News, Public Health tobacco 21, e-cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, physician advocacy, smoking age, tobacco 0 The California State Senate on Thursday passed a landmark package of bills that will save lives, help reduce teen smoking rates, and decrease the number of tobacco-related illnesses and deaths throughout the state. Six measures now head to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk, who has 12 days to sign them. Bills that passed out of the Senate today include: SBX2-5/ABX2-6 (Senator Mark Leno) would classify electronic cigarettes as tobacco products. This would make e-cigarettes subject to smoke-free laws, age restrictions, and other rules governing tobacco products; SBX2-6/ABX2-7 (Assemblymember Mark Stone) would add hotel lobbies, small businesses, break rooms and tobacco retailers to the list of smoke-free workplaces under state law; SBX2-7/ABX2-8 (Senator Ed Hernandez) would increase the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products to 21 years old; SBX2-8/ABX2-9 (Assemblymembers Tony Thurmond and Adrin Nazarian) would require all schools in the state to be tobacco-free; SBX2-9/ABX2-10 (Assemblymember Richard Bloom) would allow local jurisdictions across the state to tax tobacco; and, SBX2-10/ABX2-11 (Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian) would create an annual Board of Equalization tobacco licensing fee program California is just the second state in the country (after Hawaii) to increase the age to buy tobacco products to 21, and now one of just a few that classify e-cigarettes like other tobacco products. E-cigarette use among teens has been growing rapidly, and is associated with later smoking. “We’re doing this ... to address a growing health crisis assaulting the children of California,” said the author of the measure, Senator Mark Leno, who lambasted the tobacco industry for targeting e-cigarettes at young people in order to create “another generation of nicotine-addicted Californians.” The Senate vote came just over a week after San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the SFMS-endorsed ordinance to raise the tobacco buying age to 21. Comments are closed.
