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.