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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 23, 2019 08:27 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Gerald J. Mullery |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Prohibition of Nicotine Products in Schools |
| Every day in the United States, about 2,300 children try their first cigarette and another 350 become regular daily smokers, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. And, in recent years, the use of other nicotine-based products, such as electronic cigarettes, has increased such that today nearly three in five high school students use e-cigarettes, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. Ninety percent of adult smokers picked up the habit as teenagers when they were most susceptible to addiction and in a critical period of growth and brain development. Reducing the number of children and teens who smoke is vital, not only for their individual development, but also for public health. For every one percentage-point decline in the smoking rate, the public, private and individual healthcare costs in the United States would drop an estimated $98 million annually thanks to fewer smoking-related heart attacks and strokes. Furthermore, annual spending on smoking-related births and complications would drop nearly $80 million per year. Tobacco is already banned in Pennsylvania schools. By banning all nicotine-based products on school grounds, we can attempt to decrease their use in Pennsylvania schools. Please join me in sponsoring this important public health legislation. |
Introduced as HB1233