A state House Bill banning the sale of flavored tobacco products appears to be dead.
House Bill 551 made it through the House and passed a first Senate vote, but was ultimately not heard by either the Senate’s Commerce and Consumer Protection committee or the Senate’s Health and Human Services committee.
The final day for hearing the bill was March 23, but a 48-hour notice is required prior to the committees hearing the bill, which the measure did not receive.
While a floor motion could still be made, the waiver needed is primarily reserved for emergencies.
“The bill died again this year, unfortunately,” said Scott Stensrud, who serves as the statewide youth coordinator for the Hawaii Public Health Institute. “The big question is why.”
Committee chairs are responsible for selecting which bills are heard.
According to the state of Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau, decisions about whether or not to hear a bill are based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the perceived merits of a bill, public or political interest, requests from colleagues or the public, and the legislative timetable.
Neither Big Island Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, chair of the Health and Human Services committee, nor Oahu Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, chair of the Commerce and Consumer Protection committee, responded to requests for comment regarding their decisions not to hear the bill.
According to public records, San Buenaventura accepted $1,000 in campaign contributions on Oct. 6, 2022, from Altria, one of the world’s largest producers of tobacco. Altria owns Philip Morris USA, the company behind Marlboro cigarettes, as well a percentage of the e-cigarette company JUUL Labs and John Middleton, the manufacturer of Black &Mild cigars.
From 2019 to 2021, Keohokalole also received campaign contributions from Altria Client Services LLC totaling $2,500.
The tobacco industry spends an estimated $26 million on marketing in Hawaii each year, more than triple the amount the state spends on tobacco prevention and control programs, according to the state Department of Health.
The House bill received over 650 pages of public testimony, mainly in support of the flavored tobacco ban.
“There are countless representatives and senators that have been very strong supporters of these bills, but as we’ve seen, it only takes a couple to decide not to hear a bill, and the rest don’t get to vote on it,” Stensrud said.
According to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, nearly 1 in 6 public middle school students in Hawaii reported using e-cigarettes regularly, along with 1 in 4 high school students.
“A closer look at the data shows that youth from Kauai, Maui and Hawaii Counties are vaping at higher rates than the statewide average,” said a joint statement released Wednesday by members of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Association Network, Campaign for Tobacco-FreeKids, and the Hawaii Public Health Institute. “Because of the Legislature’s failure to stop the sale of flavored tobacco products at a statewide level (again), the counties need to be given back the power to take action.”
One other option for a potential flavored tobacco ban is Senate Bill 1447, which would allow the counties to create their own regulations around tobacco products and electronic smoking devices.
The bill was heard by the House committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce on Wednesday and passed, although concerns about enforcement were addressed.
“Part of my understanding was the reason we did a statewide law was to have statewide continuity,” said Rep. Richard Onishi of Hilo during the hearing. “We recognize at the state level that enforcement statewide would be better done with one uniform law.”
A group of roughly 100 keiki from Hilo High, Keaau High and other Big Island and Oahu schools visited the state capitol on March 15 to rally for the tobacco legislation, earning support from Gov. Josh Green and other members of the state House and Senate.
“From what they tell the youth when they meet with them, there’s overwhelming support for these bills,” Stensrud said.”It’s just frustrating that something else seems to be happening behind the scenes that causes these bills to be killed.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.