ENROLLED
2017 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 155
BY REPRESENTATIVES HOFFMANN AND LEGER
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to study certain tax-related and
health-related issues associated with electronic cigarettes and other vapor products,
and to report the findings of the study to the House Committee on Ways and Means
and the House Committee on Health and Welfare.
WHEREAS, smoking-related illnesses and deaths and their associated human and
economic costs represent a devastating public health problem across the United States; and
WHEREAS, smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in our state and
nation; and
WHEREAS, though smoking is an exceptionally difficult habit to break due to the
powerful nature of addiction to cigarettes, thousands of Americans win the battle to quit
smoking each year, many with the help of a smoking cessation program; and
WHEREAS, as provided in state statute (R.S. 26:901), "vapor product", in pertinent
part, means any non-combustible product containing nicotine that employs a heating
element, power source, electronic circuit, or other electronic, chemical, or mechanical means
that can be used to produce vapor from nicotine in a solution or other form; and
WHEREAS, the statutory definition of "vapor product" includes any electronic
cigarette; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to authority granted in the federal Tobacco Control Act of
2009, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized regulations in 2016
which, for the first time, would impose strict oversight of electronic cigarettes and other
vapor products; and
WHEREAS, according to a brief that the FDA filed in August 2016, the percentage
of high school students who use electronic cigarettes rose from one and one-half percent to
thirteen and four-tenths percent from 2011 to 2014; and
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WHEREAS, opponents of the FDA regulations argue that electronic cigarettes and
other vapor products can help people to wean themselves off of smoking combustible forms
of tobacco; and
WHEREAS, proponents of the FDA regulations argue that they are an appropriate
response to a significant public health problem, and that they are necessary to curb an
industry which targets dangerous products toward children.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health
to study the following issues associated with electronic cigarettes and other vapor products:
(1) The rates at which electronic cigarettes and other vapor products are taxed in
each U.S. state.
(2) The health impacts associated with the use of electronic cigarettes and other
vapor products.
(3) Whether the use of electronic cigarettes and other vapor products should be
promoted as a safe and effective means of quitting smoking.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, if requested by the secretary of the Louisiana
Department of Health, the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue shall assist and
collaborate in the tax-related aspect of the study requested in this Resolution.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Department of Health shall
develop a written report of findings of the study requested by this Resolution, and shall
submit the report to the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee
on Health and Welfare no later than sixty days prior to the convening of the 2018 Regular
Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and the secretary of the Louisiana
Department of Revenue.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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