Testimony in OPPOSITION To Senate Bill 38: To Ban The Sale of Flavored-Tobacco Products in California
Re: Senate Bill 38 (Hill)
Dear Chairman Pan,
The R Street
Institute is writing to oppose Senate Bill 38, which would ban the sale of
flavored-tobacco products in California, including most vaping products. R
Street is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank with an office in Sacramento. We
promote pragmatic free-market solutions to myriad problems. One of our core
issues involves harm reduction.
Our research
finds that laws that make no distinction between combustible cigarette smoking
and e-cigarettes create unnecessary difficulties for smokers to switch to these
less-harmful products. We recognize the negative effects of smoking and support
policies that move smokers toward less harmful alternatives. We believe that
this legislation will have troubling unintended consequences.
The legislation
ignores a range of studies establishing the significant reduction in health
risk posed by e-cigarettes when measured against combustible cigarettes. In
2016, the Royal College of Physicians, one of the oldest, most venerable
professional medical bodies in the world, published an authoritative report
demonstrating the long-term health hazard posed by e-cigarettes is less than 5
percent of the harm from smoking. E-cigarettes are not totally safe, of course,
and measures need to be taken to keep them out of the hands of underage people.
But they need to be available in California to help smokers quit a
more-dangerous habit.
As the Royal
College of Physicians recommends, tailoring policies to recognize the
distinction provides an incentive for smokers to move toward lower-risk
alternatives. If, for instance, cigarette smokers can no longer find vaping
liquids throughout the state, they will be more likely to keep smoking
cigarettes, which will still be available at their local convenience store.
FDA-approved cessation aids such as nicotine patches and gum can help, too, but
only a small percentage of smokers prefer to use them, whereas vaping is a far
more popular alternative.
Therefore, we
believe that any ban on the sales of flavored-tobacco products should have an
exemption that, for instance, allows people to buy e-cigarettes at vape stores
or tobacco-only locations where one must be 21 simply to enter the store.
Thank you for
your time and consideration.
Best regards,
Sincerely,
Steven
Greenhut
Western
Region Director
(909)
260-9836
