04/02/2015 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

         HB 40-USE OF ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES AS SMOKING                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:12:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SEATON announced  that the next order of  business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL  NO. 40,  "An Act  relating to  the use  of electronic                                                               
cigarettes; and providing  for an effective date."   [In front of                                                               
the committee  was CSHB 40, labeled  29-LS0232\W, Martin, 3/7/15,                                                               
which had been adopted as the work draft.]                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:12:53 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  BOB HERRON,  Alaska State  Legislature, explained                                                               
that  the proposed  bill would  classify e-cigarettes  similar to                                                               
cigars  and cigarettes  for  use in  enclosed  environments.   He                                                               
noted that the  proposed bill only addressed the  issue of second                                                               
hand aerosol,  and directed attention  to an  advertisement which                                                               
declared, "no  smoke, no ash,  no smell."   He pointed  out that,                                                               
until  technology allowed  that  the second  hand  aerosol to  be                                                               
captured so  as to  not affect  others in  enclosed environments,                                                               
the  legislation  was  necessary to  classify  e-cigarettes  with                                                               
other smoke products.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SEATON clarified  that it was illegal in Alaska  to sell or                                                               
give  nicotine delivery  devices  to minors,  without a  doctor's                                                               
prescription or parental permission, no  matter whether it was in                                                               
a smoking or non-smoking form.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:15:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SEATON opened public testimony.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:15:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SHEB GARFIELD said that he  was representing himself, although he                                                               
did  manage  a vape  shop  in  Anchorage.    He stated  that  the                                                               
proposed bill was backed by  several groups, including the Alaska                                                               
Tobacco Control Alliance,  the Alaska Tobacco Quit  Line, and the                                                               
Department of  Health and Social  Services.  He declared  that he                                                               
had often been in opposition to  these groups.  He had been smoke                                                               
free for 14 months.  While  other methods of quitting smoking had                                                               
not been  successful for him, vaping  had allowed him to  cut his                                                               
nicotine intake and break his hand  to mouth routine.  He offered                                                               
his belief  that the results  shared by these  organizations were                                                               
not peer  reviewed studies, but  merely results chosen to  show a                                                               
benefit, and  he offered  an example  of recent  formaldehyde and                                                               
particle  studies.   He stated  that  all of  these studies  show                                                               
there was  not any evidence  to back up the  opposition theories.                                                               
He shared that most of  the arguments against vaping were opinion                                                               
pieces or  junk science.   He reported that  these aforementioned                                                               
groups were also  using scare tactics.  He stated  that the usage                                                               
of any product  would have a certain amount of  exposure to teens                                                               
and children.   He  stated that  kids do  try things,  "it's what                                                               
kids do,  they try to get  things they're not supposed  to have."                                                               
He  declared that  it had  nothing  to do  with marketing  toward                                                               
children or teens.   He decried that vaping was  not a gateway to                                                               
smoking,  offering as  an example  that marijuana  had also  been                                                               
declared  to  be a  gateway  drug.    He allowed  that,  although                                                               
nicotine was deadly in large  doses, it had never been classified                                                               
as a carcinogen.  He reported  that it was no more addictive than                                                               
caffeine,  chocolate,  or  sex,  noting  that  there  was  not  a                                                               
movement to ban any of these.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:19:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  TARR pointed  out  that the  legislation was  not                                                               
supporting  a  ban,  but  rather  proposing  limitations  on  the                                                               
locations for use.  She asked whether this changed his opinion.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. GARFIELD  said that it  did not change his  opinion, pointing                                                               
out  that  any  limitation  for   testing  out  the  flavors  and                                                               
equipment in a vape shop  would discourage people from making the                                                               
change from  tobacco products.   He stated that people  wanted an                                                               
easy way to quit smoking.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked  whether people came into  the shop who                                                               
enjoyed vaping as well as smoking cigarettes.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. GARFIELD  said that he did  have some friends who  partake in                                                               
both, and  he pointed  out that  their cigarette  consumption had                                                               
dropped dramatically.   He stated that there was  not any smoking                                                               
in his store.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL pointed out that  the proposed bill was not a                                                               
ban, but was  only making enforcement similar  to cigarette laws.                                                               
He  asked whether  it would  be  okay for  people to  vape on  an                                                               
airplane.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. GARFIELD  replied that an  airplane was a  closed environment                                                               
which  was recycling  the same  air, and  that the  (FAA) Federal                                                               
Aviation Administration had already banned this.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:22:30 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CLAUDIA EAVES, Café de Vapor, stated  that she was the part owner                                                               
of several  vapor stores in  Washington, Idaho, and Alaska.   She                                                               
relayed that  she had  invested in  these businesses  because her                                                               
son used to smoke a pack of  cigarettes a day and he used chewing                                                               
tobacco, for more than 20 years.   She reported that his attempts                                                               
to  quit by  other  means  had not  worked  but  that vaping  had                                                               
allowed him to quit smoking.  She  said that this had lead him to                                                               
open  a vaping  store  in  Boise, Idaho,  and  that  when he  had                                                               
subsequently suggested that she open  a vapor store in Anchorage,                                                               
she had agreed  as she had been so impressed  with how vaping had                                                               
allowed him to  quit tobacco products.  She  declared that vaping                                                               
worked, and she  shared that many of her  customers had expressed                                                               
their  gratitude  to her.    She  stated  that vaping  will  save                                                               
countless lives,  while cigarettes  will continue  to kill.   She                                                               
asked the  committee to not make  it difficult to vape  for those                                                               
people who wanted  to quit tobacco.  She pointed  out that making                                                               
it difficult  for people to  sample the product would  often lead                                                               
to a return to tobacco use.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TARR  asked whether she would  be comfortable with                                                               
a  prohibition  on indoor  use  of  e-cigarettes, other  than  an                                                               
exception for the vaping store to allow testing of the product.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MS. EAVES  acknowledged the  concern for  use in  restaurants but                                                               
she  expressed her  concern that  a customer  was not  allowed to                                                               
sample  the different  products.   She declared  that this  could                                                               
lead to an attitude by the  customer that it was too much trouble                                                               
and  the person  would go  back to  the use  of cigarettes.   She                                                               
suggested  that people  be allowed  to  continue to  sample in  a                                                               
vapor store.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:25:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
BENJAMIN NGUYEN, Co-owner, Cloud 49,  stated his opposition to HB
, expressing his  belief that the proposed  bill was premature,                                                               
as it would diminish the hard  work and energy that had gone into                                                               
opposition  to  proposed  SB  1.   He  said  that  including  the                                                               
definition of electronic cigarettes  with smoking would undermine                                                               
the efforts to help people quit smoking.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:28:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
AMANDA  LENHARD said  that she  was testifying  for herself,  and                                                               
that she was  aware of the toxins in second  hand smoke from both                                                               
e-cigarettes and  conventional cigarettes.   It was  important to                                                               
protect  the  vulnerable  population, including  pregnant  women,                                                               
children, elders  and asthma  sufferers.   She declared  that, as                                                               
the  aerosol, ultrafine  particles,  volatile organic  compounds,                                                               
and other  toxins present in  e-cigarette second hand  smoke were                                                               
just  as dangerous  as  chemicals  from conventional  cigarettes,                                                               
they should also be included [in the same enforcement].                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:29:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
LUAN JENSEN  said that  she was testifying  on behalf  of herself                                                               
and her  children.  She  directed attention  to a study  by Johns                                                               
Hopkins which had recently reported  that exposure to e-cigarette                                                               
vapor resulted  in the decreased  ability to  withstand bacterial                                                               
and viral  infections in mice.   She acknowledged  that, although                                                               
the study was  on mice, this was the precursor  to all laboratory                                                               
studies.   She  offered to  forward a  copy of  the study  to the                                                               
House Health and Social Services Standing Committee.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:30:30 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
BEVERLY  LARSON said  that she  was a  high school  freshman with                                                               
asthma and  was testifying  for herself.   She  said that,  as an                                                               
asthmatic, it  was unfair to  have to breathe in  chemicals which                                                               
could trigger  an asthma attack,  which made athletics  even more                                                               
difficult.   She declared  that she  did not  want to  breathe in                                                               
benzene,  formaldehyde,  nicotine,  or  other  harmful  chemicals                                                               
which were  part of  second hand  smoke.   She asked  that others                                                               
make  the   decision  only  for   themselves  to   breathe  these                                                               
chemicals,  and do  it  at  their own  risk.    She testified  in                                                               
support of HB 40.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
3:31:46 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MARGE  STONEKING, Executive  Director, American  Lung Association                                                               
in  Alaska, declared  that she  was  in support  of HB  40.   She                                                               
acknowledged that  although it was  not the  ultimate protection,                                                               
adding e-cigarettes  to the  existing state  smoking laws  was an                                                               
important  opportunity for  public discourse  about the  contents                                                               
and health  harms.  She  stated that  there was not  any evidence                                                               
that  showed the  aerosol emitted  by e-cigarettes  was safe  for                                                               
non-users  to  inhale.    She reported  that  studies  had  found                                                               
formaldehyde, benzene, and  tobacco nitrosamines were carcinogens                                                               
emitted  from the  e-cigarette.   She  said that  the  use of  e-                                                               
cigarettes in public and work  places could complicate efforts to                                                               
enforce and  comply with smoke  free laws.   She shared  that the                                                               
American  Lung Association  supported  inclusion of  e-cigarettes                                                               
under  smoke free  laws for  the  protection of  non-users.   She                                                               
declared that  the nicotine content  was potentially  harmful for                                                               
children, pregnant women, people with  heart or lung disease, and                                                               
the elderly.   She said that the bystanders  inhaling second hand                                                               
aerosol  had the  same amount  of  nicotine in  their systems  as                                                               
bystanders of  second hand smoke.   She stated that there  was no                                                               
difference  for the  nicotine, even  with the  cloudless aerosol.                                                               
She stated support for HB 40.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:34:03 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MARGEAUX BAILEY  said that  she was a  student at  East Anchorage                                                               
High  School  and  that  she   was  representing  herself.    She                                                               
expressed her  concern for  the use of  e-cigarettes or  vapor by                                                               
youth, as  it was difficult to  find a student who  had not tried                                                               
e-cigarettes.  Most  people were under the  assumption that these                                                               
were  completely safe.   She  declared that  many studies  showed                                                               
that there were trace levels  of nicotine in cartridges that were                                                               
labelled  as nicotine  free.   She expressed  concern for  future                                                               
nicotine addiction and an increase of cigarette use.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:35:30 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
GRACE  GOODYEAR shared  that  she  was a  freshman  at East  High                                                               
School and was  representing herself.  She  expressed her concern                                                               
for the e-cigarette smokers and  the bystanders surrounding them.                                                               
She declared  that the small  traces of nicotine  in e-cigarettes                                                               
could still  lead to  nicotine addiction and  the use  of tobacco                                                               
products.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SEATON pointed out that  vape shops were exempt in proposed                                                               
SB 1.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:36:58 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
OCTAVIA HARRIS said that she  was representing herself and was in                                                               
support  of HB  40  because e-cigarettes  were  dangerous due  to                                                               
second hand  aerosol exposure and  should be treated the  same as                                                               
traditional cigarettes under state law.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:37:35 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ASHLEE FITCH said that she  was representing herself and that she                                                               
supported HB 40 because of  the dangers posed by e-cigarettes and                                                               
the left over residue.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:38:24 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MELISSA MUDD said that she  was representing herself and that she                                                               
had submitted a written testimony in support of HB 40.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:38:47 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
BECKY STOPPA  shared that she  was representing herself  and that                                                               
she was in support of HB 40.  She stated that an exemption on e-                                                                
cigarettes would place  an undue burden on businesses  to have to                                                               
differentiate  between the  substances.   She shared  that, given                                                               
the recent legalization of  marijuana, the refillable e-cigarette                                                               
cartridges could be  filled with anything, including  hash oil or                                                               
THC.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:40:17 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
BETTY  MACTAVISH said  that she  was representing  herself.   She                                                               
stated that  she was in support  of HB 40 to  add e-cigarettes to                                                               
the  definition of  smoking,  as the  health  dangers of  aerosol                                                               
smoke were not  yet known.  She expressed concern  for public use                                                               
of  electronic  cigarettes  and   the  ingestion  of  an  unknown                                                               
product.   She  shared  that  there had  been  complaints in  her                                                               
community for  its use in airports.   She said that  the increase                                                               
of use by youth had been  growing at an alarming rate, especially                                                               
with the candy  flavors and the ability "to blow  big giant smoke                                                               
rings has  proved to  be enough  incentive for  our youth  to try                                                               
them."                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:41:56 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SEATON  closed public testimony  after ascertaining  no one                                                               
further wished to testify.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  SEATON  reiterated that  proposed  SB  1 did  exempt  vape                                                               
shops.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:42:32 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FOSTER  moved  to  report CSHB  40,  Version  29-                                                               
LS0232\W,  Martin,  3/7/15,  out  of  committee  with  individual                                                               
recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal note.  There                                                                   
being no objection, CSHB 40(HSS) was moved from the House Health                                                                
and Social Services Standing Committee.