Lawmakers move to tighten tobacco rules
Six bills on smoking and e- cigarettes go to Brown
The state Senate has given f inal legislative approval to bills that would regulate electronic cigarettes and raise the smoking age to 21 in California, sending them to Gov. Jerry Brown for consideration.
Senate leader Kevin de León ( D- Los Angeles) called the six tobacco bills approved last week “the most expansive tobacco control legislative package in over a decade.”
Supporters of additional tobacco controls used the special session to advance bills that had bogged down during a regular session, moving them through new committees not controlled by opponents. The bills were approved last week by the Assembly. Most Republicans voted against the e- cigarette and minimum- age bills.
The bill on electronic cigarettes bans their use in restaurants, theaters and other public places where traditional smoking is already prohibited. Sen. Mark Leno ( D- San Francisco) said his bill also significantly prohibits marketing the devices to minors.
Sen. Jeff Stone ( R- Murrieta) said there was concern that electronic cigarettes served as a “gateway” to the use of regular cigarettes, especially for teenagers. “For the f irst time, more teenagers use e- cigarettes than cigarettes,” Stone said.
Sen. John Moorlach ( RCosta Mesa) opposed the measure, saying it infringes on freedoms. “Everybody has the right and the freedom to smoke,” he said.
The Senate also passed a measure by Sen. Ed Hernandez ( D- West Covina) that would raise the legal mini- mum age for smoking in California from 18 to 21. Hernandez said the proposal would save lives because fewer minors would take up cigarettes.
The senator said fierce opposition to the bill by the tobacco industry shows that it relies on a business model “to market and sell this poison to our kids.”
Sen. Joel Anderson ( RSan Diego) opposed the bill, saying it would deprive people who return from war a chance to smoke. The bill exempts active military personnel.
If the governor signs the bill, California would become the second state in the country, after Hawaii, to increase the age to buy tobacco products to 21.
The Senate also approved four other tobacco bills, including measures increasing licensing fees for tobacco sales, allowing coun- ties to seek voter approval of tobacco taxes, and expanding bans on smoking at schools and workplaces to include warehouses, gambling clubs, motel lobbies, covered parking lots and other public areas left out of the existing law.
Sen. Bob Hertzberg ( DVan Nuys) withheld his vote on the workplace rule, saying the bill might trip up people who work alone in their home, if a customer shows up.
“This is not about tobacco. This is about writing the laws in a way that works for folks,” Hertzberg said.
Sen. Bill Monning ( DCarmel) said the measure was necessary.
“Let’s protect all Californians from secondhand, poisonous smoke,” Monning said.