Lawmakers heard extensive testimony on the proposal to ban flavored tobacco products on Guam during a public hearing Friday. While health professionals and organizations testified in favor of the measure, some recommending amendments, the measure also drew significant opposition from the vaping device users, shop owners and other stakeholders, who said more targeted enforcement should be considered instead of an outright ban, including holding accountable those adults who provide vape products to minors.
Bill 229-37, as stated, would ban flavored tobacco products on Guam. The measure is among a number of bills intended to reduce tobacco use or vaping among youth.
Sen. Thomas Fisher introduced the measure, initially as Bill 50-37, early last year. The bill was withdrawn and amended to add requested changes from the American Cancer Society, and was reintroduced as Bill 229-37 in early January.
The current language clarifies the definition of flavored tobacco product, prohibiting the sale of menthol cigarettes and all other flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, without exception. Under the previous language, any product that has received a marketing order or other authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was exempted, according to Alex Wiles, senior regional media advocacy manager for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, or ACS CAN.
Dr. Annette David, chair of the Guam State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup, said she has seen the “worrisome” data on tobacco use among youth, particularly, the “alarming” rise in the use of e-cigarettes and other smoking devices.
“Flavored tobacco products are the choice of the majority of our youngest tobacco users, whether smoked, chewed or vaped. In one study, adolescents were four to six times more likely to try an e-cigarette if it were flavored with menthol, candy or fruit. And moreover, youth who begin smoking menthol products are more likely to become nicotine dependent and progress to regular tobacco use in later life,” David said.
“So, if nicotine is what keeps them hooked, flavors are what open the door to addiction,” she added.
However, several opposed to Bill 229 testified that vaping helped them curb their addiction to traditional cigarettes or tobacco use. Some also argued that a ban may just end up shifting use back to those other products, as well as losing tax revenue for the government of Guam and hurting the economy.
Janus Mendiola said he had been a cigarette smoker for more than 20 years.
“Considering the difficulties of quitting cigarettes and my eroding health, I was able to come across nicotine vaping, which took me about two weeks to quit entirely from any combustible cigarette,” Janus Mendiola said, adding that he was capable of quitting cigarettes entirely in January 2022 and eventually saw his blood pressure change to normal, allowing him to get off prescription medication.
Janus Mendiola said he came across a 2021 study that asserted there was a benefit to exclusive use of nicotine vaping over combustible cigarettes, which he said affirmed his testimony as not anecdotal.
“This bill allows for the continued sale of tobacco. It does not prohibit known cancer-causing tobacco,” Janus Mendiola said.
“Who stands to benefit from this legislation? We know there’s some businesses who have not been paying taxes. Wouldn’t it be great if you get rid of the thing that’s going to take away from their market share so they can come back and pay the taxes that they haven’t been paying?” Janus Mendiola added, appearing to refer to cigarette sellers.
Speaking just before Janus Mendiola was Bistra Mendiola, part owner of the Vape Escape stores, who went through a plethora of information regarding claims and concerns around vaping. She stated that “four different studies” show that bans on vaping products lead to a “significant increase in reverting back to smoking.”
Cynthia Au, government relations director for Hawaii and Guam for the ACS CAN, said no e-cigarette product to date has been approved by the FDA as a smoking cessation device and, to her knowledge, none has been sent to the FDA to be considered as a smoking cessation device. She also said there’s no evidence to support “industry claims” that e-cigarette restrictions will lead to increases in cigarette smoking.
“States that have prohibited flavored e-cigarettes also experienced declines in cigarette sales,” she added.
Claudia Rodas, a regional advocacy director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the World Health Organization has never approved of vaping as a tobacco cessation device, and has urged all governments to ban the sale of vaping devices or make them less appealing to the general population.
Choice
At some point within the first hour or so of the five-hour-long hearing, Sen. Telo Taitague commented that she didn’t believe Bill 229 would stop the “poisoning” of children on Guam, adding that it would be critical to support education and prevention programs.
“What (Bill 229 is) going to do is stop us from having choices in our lives. We’re talking about education is key for teaching our children not to smoke or drink,” Taitague said.
“If you ask me, I think we should just ban sugar altogether because that’s really the stem of everything, … but we have choices. And what we do with those choices is to decide what is in our best interest,” the senator added.
During her testimony, Bistra Mendiola commented that a 2023 study containing Guam data states only that scenarios where tobacco products are offered were more likely to occur in school, rather than in other locations. But “most alarmingly,” the study also stated that family members were more likely to make offers than other people, according to Bistra Mendiola.
“This study reveals the cultural aspect of it, where family and siblings, older siblings, are actually supplying the younger children with that product, which is strictly reserved for adults. As I said earlier, we need to do something about that,” Bistra Mendiola said.
Guam Department of Education Superintendent Kenneth Erik Swanson said during his testimony that the department sees e-cigarette use at its highest in the middle school level, peaking around the end of seventh grade and beginning of eighth grade, then begins to fall.
“As we get to high school, we’re noticing that we’re encountering the vaping products and devices less. But what we’ve also discovered is we have a huge problem of disposing the devices that we confiscate,” Swanson said.
GDOE, overall, supports Bill 229, according to Swanson.
Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency Director Ike Peredo said the agency also supported the measure, but noted that it did not contain an explicit prohibition on importation.
Acting Department of Revenue and Taxation Director Marie Lizama wrote that her department would need support for necessary resources and personnel to effectively carry out the intent of Bill 229.
There is separate legislation which proposes to impose tax and licensing requirements for vaping products, Bill 192-37, which was mentioned Friday.
“Well, we levy a lot of taxes on the cigarette industry, and we still, on Guam, smoke more cigarettes than anybody else,” Fisher said Friday, as the hearing for Bill 229 came to a close.
“Every person who’s going to be voting on this, they have a dilemma, a moral question to answer. Are we going to accept the 30 pieces of silver and sacrifice our children’s lives? Or are we going to step up and protect this most vulnerable section of our community?” he added.
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