NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6393
SPONSOR: Paulin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to expanding the drug
take back act to include single-use and reusable electronic cigarettes
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to expand the drug take back act by
designating single-use and reusable electronic cigarettes as covered
drugs.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends subdivision 2 of section 290 of the public health law
to provide that single-use and reusable electronic cigarettes are
defined as covered drugs that can be returned to a drug take back site.
Section two states the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Five disposable vapes are thrown away every second by young people in
the United States, despite their utilization of lithium-ion batteries. A
survey of almost 3,000 young people by Truth Initiative, a public health
organization working to end smoking and vaping, revealed that more than
half of l5-to-24 year olds who vape use disposable devices. Of those,
two thirds discard devices straight into their household trash. Vapes
(or e-cigarettes) use lithium-ion batteries to heat a liquid that is
inhaled. Even though most disposable vapes contain, a rechargeable
battery, they are designed and marketed to be discarded once the liquid
runs out'.
The toxic nature of lithium-ion batteries drastically increases their
propensity to catch fire, and designates them as hazardous waste. The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported 245 fires that were
caused by lithium-ion batteries between 2013 and 2020 in waste facili-
ties including garbage trucks and warehouses. Furthermore, e-cigarettes
can introduce plastic, nicotine salts, heavy metals, lead, and mercury
into the environment. These devices become pollution and break down
into toxic microplastics and chemicals that make their way into storm
drains and contaminate water sources.
The Drug Take Back Act created a program that mandates manufacturers to
establish, fund, and manage a New York State approved drug take back
program(s) for the safe collection and disposal of covered drugs. This
program ensures controlled substances are returned to secure sites, such
as pharmacies, which prevents them from being accessed by other individ-
uals, and stops them from polluting waterways and soil. By designating
single-use and reusable electronic cigarettes as a substance that can be
returned to drug take back sites, this legislation can fill the gap in
our current system for both combatting the use of harmful e-cigarettes,
as well as protecting our waterways and wildlife.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law
(1)https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2022-12-15/ lithium-be-
ing-trashed-by-the-tonne-as-disposable- vapes-flood-us-market
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6393
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 6, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to expanding the drug
take back act to include single-use and reusable electronic cigarettes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 290 of the public health law, as
2 added by chapter 120 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
3 2. "Covered drug" means any substance recognized as a drug under 21
4 USC § 321(g)(1), as amended, and any regulations promulgated thereunder
5 that is sold, offered for sale or dispensed in the state, whether
6 directly or through a wholesaler, in any form including prescription and
7 nonprescription drugs, drugs in medical devices and combination
8 products, brand and generic drugs and drugs for veterinary use; provided
9 however, covered drug shall additionally include single-use and reusable
10 electronic cigarettes as defined in section thirteen hundred ninety-
11 nine-aa of this chapter; provided however covered drug shall not
12 include: (a) vitamins or supplements; (b) herbal-based remedies and
13 homeopathic drugs, products or remedies; (c) cosmetics, soap (with or
14 without germicidal agents), laundry detergent, bleach, household clean-
15 ing products, shampoos, sunscreens, toothpaste, lip balm, antiperspi-
16 rants or other personal care products that are regulated as both cosmet-
17 ics and nonprescription drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
18 Act; (d) pet pesticide products contained in pet collars, powders, sham-
19 poos, topical applications, or other forms; (e) drugs that are biolog-
20 ical products as defined in subdivision twenty-seven of section sixty-
21 eight hundred two of the education law if the manufacturer already
22 provides a take back program; (f) drugs for which a manufacturer
23 provides a take back program as part of a Federal Food and Drug Adminis-
24 tration managed risk evaluation and mitigation strategy; (g) emptied
25 injector products or emptied medical devices and their component parts
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09080-01-3
A. 6393 2
1 or accessories; and (h) drugs that are used solely in a clinical
2 setting.
3 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
4 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
5 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
6 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
7 completed on or before such effective date.
