Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health Tobacco Control topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public‑health groups ask Senate to restore tobacco-prevention funding, reinstate vape retailer registry and consider cigarette tax increase
Summary
Public-health witnesses asked the Senate to restore or increase funding for the Tobacco Use Prevention Fund, to reinstate a vapor retailer licensing/registry program and to consider the governor's cigarette tax increase. Local health officials and national health organizations provided data on youth vaping, retailer noncompliance and the public‑s
Local public‑health officials, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network testified to the Senate Health Committee about tobacco use, youth vaping and prevention funding in House Bill 96.
Leah Baylor, health educator at the Clark County Combined Health District, said initial compliance checks in December 2022 found a 35 percent failure rate for underage sales of vapor products at 84 stores; after a local tobacco retailer license with fines was imposed, the failure rate fell to 8 percent. She showed the committee a collection of confiscated devices and said youth report it is “extremely easy to access tobacco products in our community.”
Dustin Hoelfinger, testifying for the American Heart Association, asked the Senate to support amendments that would reinsert a vapor retailer registry (amendment SC0310), restore tobacco-prevention funding toward the governor’s $10,000,000-per-year request, and bolster Produce Perks SNAP matching at farmers markets. He argued the vapor registry would direct application fees into the Tobacco Use Prevention Fund.
Kezia Ofasu of the American Lung Association urged a $1.50-per-pack cigarette tax increase and parity in taxation for vapor products, saying a tax increase would reduce youth initiation and generate revenue. Lee Almeida of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network cited state-level health and economic costs and said the cigarette increase would prevent thousands of youth from becoming adult smokers and save lives.
Witnesses asked the Senate to restore the Tobacco Use Prevention Fund to at least $7.5–$10 million per year (the House-declared level was lower in the passed bill), to require a vapor distributor license to hold retailers accountable, and to reinsert a cigarette tax increase omitted by the House. No committee vote occurred during the testimony; witnesses urged the Senate to amend HB 96 to return prevention investments and regulatory tools.
