Senate Bill S475

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S475

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the public health law and the general
business law, in relation to the labeling of electronic cigarette pack-
aging

 
PURPOSE:

To increase public safety with regard to the use of electronic ciga-
rettes and to warn individuals who may use electronic cigarettes of
their potential to explode or catch fire.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends section 1399-cc of the Public Health Law
requiring all places of business wherein tobacco products, herbal ciga-
rettes, liquid nicotine, sisha or electronic cigarettes are sold or
offered for sale to comply with the provisions of section 398-f of the
General Business Law.

              

Section two amends the General Business Law to add a new section 398-f
requiring all electronic cigarette packages contain a warning label.

Section three provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

As the number of individuals, including teens, using e-cigarettes
continues to climb, more and more reports of the products exploding has
resulted in additional concerns arising over the safety of these
products when used by consumers. According to the FDA, from 2011 to
2015, e-cigarette use rose from 1.5 percent to 16 percent among high
school students and has increased among the general population as well.
Given the lack of regulations relating to e-cigarettes, their chemical
composition continues to raise safety concerns and the use of nicotine,
especially among teens, often leads to e-cigarettes use as a gateway or
supplement to traditional cigarettes. Adding to these safety concerns,
multiple individuals have been seriously injured as a result of using
e-cigarettes when they suddenly blow up.

An Idaho man was seriously injured after an e-cigarette exploded in his
mouth, scorching his skin and knocking out seven of his teeth.  The man
said he was vaping before going to work when the device suddenly blew
up. The father of three was rushed to intensive care at his local hospi-
tal, where doctors had to remove chunks of plastic from his throat and
lips. Another example of the potential dangers of e-cigarettes involved
a worker at a wine store in Manhattan that suffered burns to his hand
and leg after an e-cigarette caught fire in his pocket. The man was
taken by private ambulance to a local hospital where he was admitted to
the burn unit for treatment and would require surgery.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, the shape and construction of
e-cigarettes can make them more likely than other products with lithi-
um-ion batteries to behave like 'flaming rockets' when a battery fails.
The FDA's Center for Tobacco Products identified 137 reported incidents
of e-cigarette overheating, fires and explosions from 2009 to 2015 and
received 20 reports of e-cigarette' s overheating, catching fire or
exploding in 2016. It is important to note that the adverse experience
reporting that has been received by the FDA is an underestimate of actu-
al events.

Moreover, an American Airlines flight had to be diverted and forced to
make an emergency landing after a passenger's electronic cigarette
malfunctioned and caused a fire. Similarly, Delta Air Lines reported a
delay in take off after an e-cigarette started a small fire on board the
plane. As a result, in 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation
prohibited airline passengers and crew members from carrying battery-
powered portable electronic smoking devises in checked baggage, and from
using or charging the devices aboard aircraft.

Recently, the Navy announced that it is banning electronic cigarettes
and vaporizers from its aircraft, ships and submarines after receiving
multiple reports of the devices' batteries exploding, catching fire and
injuring sailors. Eight of the incidents recorded by the Naval Safety
Center occurred aboard ships or aircraft, and in one incident, an
aircraft had to return to base because e-cigarette batteries were creat-
ing smoke in the cargo section. Notably, in one case, a battery melted
through the pocket of a sailor in a submarine and ignited after it hit
the deck. In four other cases, the failures occurred when a service
member was actively using one of the devices, and on two of those occa-
sions, the explosion occurred in the user's mouth. Those who had devices
in their mouths suffered facial, bodily and dental injuries requiring
continued treatment.

With the number of incidents continuing to rise, it is important to
provide consumers with a warning about the potential of the products to
explode or catch fire and cause grave injury to users. This legislation
would require all e-cigarette packages contain a warning label that
explicitly warns users of the potential for the product to explode,
catch fire or overheat.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18: 5.5590 (Hannon) - Died in Rules

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become a law.