03/12/2015 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

         HB 40-USE OF ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES AS SMOKING                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:37:01 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
VICE CHAIR  VAZQUEZ announced  that the  final order  of business                                                               
would  be HOUSE  BILL NO.  40,  "An Act  relating to  the use  of                                                               
electronic cigarettes; and providing for an effective date."                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:37:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  BOB HERRON,  Alaska State  Legislature, expressed                                                               
his appreciation  for products available to  help curtail tobacco                                                               
use.  He declared that his  concern was with safe disposal of the                                                               
exhaled aerosol.  He expressed  his desire for e-cigarette use to                                                               
only be in an area where smoking was allowed.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
4:38:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
VICE CHAIR VAZQUEZ opened public testimony.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:38:57 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MISTY MICHELLE  JENSEN said  that she  was speaking  for herself,                                                               
and  she  stated  her  support  of  HB  40  to  treat  electronic                                                               
cigarettes  the same  as traditional  cigarettes, with  regard to                                                               
the  second  hand smoke.    She  cited  the Centers  for  Disease                                                               
Control (CDC) and  stated that the vapor from  an e-cigarette was                                                               
an aerosol which  contained nicotine and toxic  chemicals and was                                                               
not  safe  to  smoke  or  inhale.   She  declared  that  she  was                                                               
horrified  by the  messages in  advertisements  and stores  which                                                               
promoted e-cigarettes as safe.   She emphasized that "this simply                                                               
is not  true."  She  stated that there was  a danger for  the re-                                                               
normalization  of  smoking  with   the  emergence  of  these  new                                                               
products  and that  it was  necessary for  the leaders  in health                                                               
care to  send a clear  message that  smoking included the  use of                                                               
electronic cigarettes.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:40:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
EMILY  NENON,  Alaska  Government  Relations  Director,  American                                                               
Cancer  Society Cancer  Action Network,  directed attention  to a                                                               
letter  dated  March  4,  2015  [Included  in  members'  packets]                                                               
declaring  support  of HB  40.    She  reported that  there  were                                                               
hundreds of  different products being marketed  as electronic (e)                                                               
cigarettes, and  that, as they were  unregulated, the ingredients                                                               
were  unknown.   She pointed  out  that the  proposed bill  would                                                               
strictly address exposure  to the second hand  aerosol from these                                                               
e-cigarettes.  She explained that  the difference between a vapor                                                               
and an  aerosol was that  an aerosol contained fine  particles of                                                               
liquid and/or  solids.   She cited a  "growing number  of studies                                                               
that  have looked  at the  contents of  e-cigarette aerosol"  and                                                               
listed  propylene glycol,  nicotine, and  flavorings, as  well as                                                               
heavy  metals,   volatile  organic   compounds,  tobacco-specific                                                               
nitrosamines,  and other  potentially  harmful  chemicals as  the                                                               
most common  ingredients.  She  declared concern for  second hand                                                               
exposure to these ingredients.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES  asked for  the studies that  supported her                                                               
statements.    She shared  that  her  research indicated  "maybe,                                                               
possibly, could be,  and it appears that there's  just not enough                                                               
information to classify these as  a tobacco type cigarette."  She                                                               
directed attention to  a March 12, 2015 study which  did not find                                                               
any health concerns in e-cigarette  vapors.  She stated that this                                                               
was  "clearly a  pretty controversial  issue."   She acknowledged                                                               
the  position taken  by Ms.  Nenon, as  she was  employed by  the                                                               
American Cancer Society.  She  declared that there was not enough                                                               
evidence to convince her [that the vapors were dangerous.]                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. NENON  offered to supply  the necessary studies  and continue                                                               
the discussion.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
4:44:53 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JAY  BUTLER,  MD,  Chief Medical  Officer/Director,  Division  of                                                               
Public Health,  Central Office, Department  of Health  and Social                                                               
Services, said that:                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     it may  well be  that aerosol's from  e-cigarettes pose                                                                    
     less  of  a  threat  from  second  hand  exposure  than                                                                    
     traditional  cigarettes, but  I  would caution  against                                                                    
      assuming that they are safe, given that studies have                                                                      
       shown that metabolites of nicotine are recoverable                                                                       
        from people who are exposed to aerosol's from e-                                                                        
     cigarettes secondhand.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
DR.  BUTLER  allowed  that  the Division  of  Public  Health  had                                                               
struggled with  the question  of where  e-cigarettes fell  on the                                                               
spectrum  of risk.   He  shared  that the  division had  recently                                                               
completed a  literature review, and  he offered to  supply copies                                                               
of  this  to  the  committee  for reference.    He  stated  that,                                                               
although there  was the  potential for use  of e-cigarettes  as a                                                               
harm reduction  technique or  a smoking  cessation tool,  some of                                                               
the data suggested that they were  being used as a way to deliver                                                               
supplemental nicotine.   He directed  attention to the  ways this                                                               
product was  marketed, as  a way  to smoke  when smoking  was not                                                               
allowed.  He  expressed concern that, although a  lot of progress                                                               
had been  made in  smoking reduction in  youth, the  marketing of                                                               
the   flavoring  in   e-cigarettes   was  focused   on  a   young                                                               
demographic.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.  BUTLER  highlighted  the  threat  for  e-cigarettes  to  re-                                                               
normalize  smoking  behavior.    He   pointed  out  that,  as  e-                                                               
cigarettes  were  not  regulated, the  aerosol  ingredients  were                                                               
considered  proprietary  information,  which posed  a  threat  to                                                               
indoor air  quality.  He  emphasized that the  goals of HB  40 to                                                               
only allow e-cigarette  use in places where  cigarette smoking is                                                               
not prohibited "makes good public health sense."                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
4:48:03 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ASHLEY PELTIER stated  her support of HB 40,  to treat electronic                                                               
cigarettes  the same  as traditional  cigarettes  with regard  to                                                               
secondhand smoke exposure.   She reported that  the vapor emitted                                                               
had been shown to contain  ultra-fine particles which exacerbated                                                               
respiratory issues  when inhaled, and  had been shown  to contain                                                               
chemicals such as benzene, cadmium,  and formaldehyde.  She noted                                                               
that there were particularly enticing  flavors added to appeal to                                                               
youth.  She reminded the  committee that the tobacco industry had                                                               
previously stated  that second hand  smoke was harmless  and that                                                               
smoking was good  for us.  She expressed her  reluctance to trust                                                               
the  tobacco industry  statements  that  e-cigarettes and  second                                                               
hand aerosol  were safe,  and that no  one should  unknowingly be                                                               
exposed to  a substance that  can harm  them.  She  declared that                                                               
everyone had the right to breathe clean air.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:49:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CLAY  BEZENEK stated  that  he  was against  HB  40, although  he                                                               
understood the reasoning behind the  proposed bill.  He suggested                                                               
that  there  should  be  federal   legislation  to  regulate  the                                                               
industry.   He  shared  that he  knew many  people  who had  quit                                                               
smoking because of  e-cigarettes.  He declared that  he was anti-                                                               
smoking,  and that  he  was often  annoyed  to continually  smell                                                               
cigarette smoke.   He opined  that this  was a positive  step for                                                               
the  tobacco  industry  to  market  e-cigarettes,  although  this                                                               
proposed  regulation was  "a little  pre-mature"  as it  vilified                                                               
people or forced  them to move.   He noted that he  needed to see                                                               
conclusive evidence that the vapor was harmful.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
4:52:32 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
VICE CHAIR  VAZQUEZ stated  that public  testimony would  be kept                                                               
open and that HB 40 would be held over.