03/03/2025 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE

           SB  24-TOBACCO/NICOTINE/E-CIG AGE; E-CIG TAX                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:33:34 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 24                                                                
"An  Act  relating  to   tobacco,  tobacco  products,  electronic                                                               
smoking  products, nicotine,  and  products containing  nicotine;                                                               
raising  the  minimum  age  to  purchase,  exchange,  or  possess                                                               
tobacco, a product containing nicotine,  or an electronic smoking                                                               
product;  relating to  the tobacco  use  education and  cessation                                                               
fund;  relating to  the taxation  of electronic  smoking products                                                               
and vapor products; and providing for an effective date."                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
1:34:17 PM                                                                                                                    
TIM   LAMKIN,  Staff,   Senator   Gary   Stevens,  Alaska   State                                                               
Legislature,  Juneau, Alaska,  provided a  summary of  SB 24  and                                                               
stated  that  SB  24  raises  the  minimum  age  for  purchasing,                                                               
possessing, and selling tobacco and  nicotine products from 19 to                                                               
21 and would  implement a 25 percent sales tax  on cigarettes and                                                               
vaping products at the point of sale.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
1:35:12 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced invited testimony on SB 24.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
1:35:34 PM                                                                                                                    
ROEY ARMSTRONG, Co-president,  Youth Encouraging Alaskan's Health                                                               
(YEAH), Anchorage, Alaska,  testified by invitation on  SB 24 and                                                               
stated  that YEAH  is  a youth-led  group  focused on  preventing                                                               
nicotine  and  tobacco use  among  Alaskan  teens, especially  in                                                               
rural  communities. YEAH  staff learn  about the  harms of  these                                                               
substances  and  share  that  knowledge  through  school  visits,                                                               
videos, and an  annual youth-led summit. She said  at the summit,                                                               
YEAH  staff train  teens to  educate their  own communities.  She                                                               
said she joined  YEAH after attending a  virtual summit, inspired                                                               
by her  dad's struggle with  quitting tobacco. She said  YEAH has                                                               
been  active  for  five  years  and  believes  education  is  the                                                               
strongest tool  to prevent  addiction. She  stated that  taxes on                                                               
tobacco would help  fund programs like YEAH  and discourage youth                                                               
use by  raising pricessomething  that  affects young  people more                                                               
because young people have limited  income. She said higher prices                                                               
might  stop those  who aren't  addicted yet  but are  considering                                                               
trying  it socially.  Once  addicted, people  will  find ways  to                                                               
access these  substances, which is  why early prevention  is key.                                                               
She  stated that  by  adding this  tax, YEAH  aims  to break  the                                                               
cycleusing   funds from  nicotine  and tobacco  sales to  educate                                                               
youth  and  prevent  future  use.  In high  school,  she  saw  e-                                                               
cigarettes  in nearly  every classroom.  She attended  a Title  I                                                               
school where  many students  lived at or  below the  poverty line                                                               
and  were  getting  addicted because  these  products  were  both                                                               
accessible and normalized. She stated  that raising the legal age                                                               
to 21 would help prevent sales  to minors. This change would make                                                               
enforcement  easier  and  help curb  youth  addiction  before  it                                                               
grows.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:42:21 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR BJORKMAN opened public testimony on SB 24.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
1:42:54 PM                                                                                                                    
At ease.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:43:29 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:43:38 PM                                                                                                                    
At ease.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:44:04 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:44:41 PM                                                                                                                    
BRAD BOEDECKER, Owner, Eagle River  Chevron, Eagle River, Alaska,                                                               
testified in opposition  to SB 24 because of  its unintended harm                                                               
to businesses like his. He stated  that if someone was to look at                                                               
his store's  vapor section, people  would see he  follows federal                                                               
regulations and  offers legal products responsibly.  The nicotine                                                               
cap  in SB  24  would eliminate  about 75  percent  of his  vapor                                                               
inventory, even though it's federally  legal, hurting his ability                                                               
to meet  customer needs and  pushing people toward  unsafe black-                                                               
market products.  He stated  that the  added tax  structure would                                                               
also make remaining products  less competitive, while unregulated                                                               
products with higher nicotine content stay cheaper.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:47:06 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR BJORKMAN asked if he had  a suggestion regarding the cap on                                                               
nicotine.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
1:47:15 PM                                                                                                                    
MR. BOEDECKER  answered that  he doesn't have  a   suggestion and                                                               
that  whatever products  hes   been using  seem  to be  federally                                                               
regulated.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:47:41 PM                                                                                                                    
JEN  GRIFFIS,   Vice  President,  Policy  and   Advocacy,  Alaska                                                               
Children's Trust,  Anchorage, Alaska, testified in  support of SB
 as follows:                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
[Original punctuation provided.]                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     I  am  testifying  in  support   of  Senate  Bill  24  which                                                               
     addresses the minimum purchase age  and consistent taxing of                                                               
     tobacco   products,   including  vaping   products.   Alaska                                                               
     Children's  Trust  believes  in   a  future  where  Alaska's                                                               
     children,  youth and  families have  the knowledge,  skills,                                                               
     supports, and resources they need to thrive.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     To  help  achieve  this vision,  we  support  policies  that                                                               
     promote the  health and wellbeing  of Alaska's  children and                                                               
     youth.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Senate Bill  24 supports  the reduction in  underage tobacco                                                               
     usage by  aligning state law  with federal  statute, raising                                                               
     the minimum  purchase age for  all tobacco products  from 19                                                               
     to 21.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Additionally SB24  establishes a  sales tax  for e-cigarette                                                               
     products, also  commonly known as  vapes, making the  tax on                                                               
     vaping  products  consistent  with taxes  on  other  tobacco                                                               
     products in the state.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Tax policies and age restrictions  on purchases are policies                                                               
     associated with a  reduction in the underage  use of tobacco                                                               
     products.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     According  to KIDS  COUNT 2024,  17 percent  of Alaska  high                                                               
     school  students reported  having used  a vape  in the  past                                                               
     month. In  2022, vapes were  the most used  nicotine product                                                               
     by youth.                                                                                                                  
     Limiting  access to  youth through  targeted  taxation is  a                                                               
     policy choice  that is currently  implemented in  Alaska for                                                               
     other  substances, including  cigarettes  and alcohol.  Both                                                               
     cigarette  smoking  and  use of  alcohol  have  consistently                                                               
     declined since  the introduction of taxes  on these specific                                                               
     items. Alaska's  last peak  in underage  alcohol use  was in                                                               
     2017.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Additionally research in other  states has demonstrated that                                                               
     increased prices  on e-cigarette products through  taxes has                                                               
     resulted in a lower rate of use among youth.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     The  policy changes  in Senate  Bill 24  would promote  safe                                                               
     behaviors  in Alaska's  youth, increasing  youth health  and                                                               
     wellbeing.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
1:49:54 PM                                                                                                                    
TABITHA KARPOW,  representing self, Anchorage,  Alaska, testified                                                               
in support of SB 24 and  stated that as a lifelong Alaskan, she's                                                               
deeply concerned about how easy it  is for kids to access tobacco                                                               
and e-cigarettes. She  said one of her children was  given a vape                                                               
at school  and got in trouble.  While the school partners  with a                                                               
prevention  program,  nothing is  available  on-site,  so he  was                                                               
suspended. She  said a nonprofit  program helped him  return five                                                               
days early  after completing  a class. She  fully supports  a tax                                                               
that  funds prevention  programs directly,  so schools  can offer                                                               
support  in-house and  help  kids  stay in  school.  She said  e-                                                               
cigarettes  are currently  untaxed  because e-cigarettes  emerged                                                               
after the 2004 cigarette tax.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:52:12 PM                                                                                                                    
CARRIE   NYSSEN,  Senior   Director,   Advocacy,  American   Lung                                                               
Association, Vancouver,  Washington, testified  in support  of SB
 and  stated that  in 2018, the  U.S. Surgeon  General declared                                                               
youth  vaping an  epidemic, which  continues today.  SB 24  helps                                                               
address  this  by  taxing  e-cigarettes  and  funding  prevention                                                               
programs.  She  said these  are  not  cessation products  and  no                                                               
manufacture  has sought  to have  the products  approved as  quit                                                               
programs. The  products contain harmful substances  like lead and                                                               
ultrafine particles. Flavored vapes,  sound safe but pose serious                                                               
risks when inhaled.  She said raising the purchase age  to 21 and                                                               
supporting  education  are  essential   steps  to  protect  youth                                                               
health.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:54:21 PM                                                                                                                    
VALERIA  DELGAD-LOPEZ,  representing   self,  Anchorage,  Alaska,                                                               
testified in support of SB 24  and stated that vaping has reached                                                               
elementary schools  giving an  example of  a school  in Anchorage                                                               
where  fourth  and  fifth  grade  students  were  caught  trading                                                               
chocolate  milk for  e-cigarette  puffs. Middle  and high  school                                                               
students  continue to  vape, often  in  bathrooms, fueling  early                                                               
addiction due to  high nicotine levels. She said  one young adult                                                               
shared  she  started  using  nicotine  as  a  teen,  not  knowing                                                               
nicotine was addictive, and now  struggles to quit. Parents often                                                               
can't  detect e-cigarette  use because  the devices  are easy  to                                                               
hide.  She stated  that  studies  have shown  that  for every  10                                                               
percent increase  in the price  of tobacco products,  the smoking                                                               
rate drops  about 4  percent amongst adults  and 7  percent among                                                               
youth, which is  significant. She said that  raising the purchase                                                               
age to  21 and increasing  taxes are proven strategies  to reduce                                                               
youth vaping and support prevention.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:56:28 PM                                                                                                                    
ALEX  MCDONALD, representing  self, Fairbanks,  Alaska, testified                                                               
in opposition  to SB 24  and stated  that vaping is  not smoking                                                                
there's no combustion or smoke,  which is why many former smokers                                                               
like him  made the  switch. He  said he  lost his  grandmother to                                                               
cancer from smoking  and didn't want the same fate.  Even the FDA                                                               
recommends  switching to  safer products  like e-cigarettes,  and                                                               
youth vaping  rates in  Alaska are  now at  record lows.  He said                                                               
taxing safer alternatives is  counterproductive and will possibly                                                               
push people back  to smoking. This proposed sales  tax would even                                                               
apply to  existing local wholesale  taxes, creating a  double tax                                                               
burden that unfairly penalizes people trying to quit smoking.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:59:13 PM                                                                                                                    
AARON OSTEREACK, representing  self, Anchorage, Alaska, testified                                                               
in support of SB 24 and  stated that he's not saying e-cigarettes                                                               
don't affect  youth, but  he believes the  impact may  be greater                                                               
than the previous  testifier suggested. He said  in the Anchorage                                                               
School  District,   vaping  is   the  second  leading   cause  of                                                               
suspensions. Youth of all ages  are getting access, and early use                                                               
often leads to long-term nicotine  addiction. He said as a parent                                                               
of three, he has seen this  firsthand with his oldest who avoided                                                               
substances until recently but was  influenced by peers and is now                                                               
trying to  quit vaping.  He said  education and  support programs                                                               
are essential,  so youth understand  the risks and  make informed                                                               
choices.  Schools   across  Alaska  need  resources   to  address                                                               
addiction   early   and   help  prevent   health   and   academic                                                               
consequences.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:02:50 PM                                                                                                                    
JULIE  CLEATON,  Secretary,  Board of  Directors,  Alaska  Public                                                               
Health Association,  Wasilla, Alaska, testified in  support of SB
 and  stated that her  organization supports efforts  to reduce                                                               
tobacco  use, a  leading cause  of preventable  death in  Alaska,                                                               
responsible for around 600 deaths  annually and costing the state                                                               
hundreds  of millions  in healthcare  and lost  productivity. She                                                               
said in  January, the Alaska  Public Health Association  passed a                                                               
resolution  urging  the state  to  prioritize  six proven  policy                                                               
actions:                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
   • Increase funding for tobacco prevention and education.                                                                     
   • Raise taxes on all tobacco and nicotine products, including e-                                                             
     cigarettes.                                                                                                                
   • Strengthen clean indoor air laws.                                                                                          
   • Ban flavored tobacco products.                                                                                             
   • Raise the legal purchase age to 21.                                                                                        
   • Remove penalties for youth possession and use.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:04:36 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR BJORKMAN closed public testimony on SB 24.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:05:02 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR BJORKMAN held SB 24 in committee.