House junks wider tobacco ban proposal

Citing opposition by government agencies and those in the private sector, the House Committee on Health and Welfare yesterday junked legislation seeking a wider tobacco ban on the island for young people under the age of 21.

“[R]aising the age to purchase tobacco products from 18 years of age to 21 would be punishing the wrong persons — it would punish young adults for the [wrongdoing] of a small percentage of retailers who [sell] to youth under the age of 18,” it said in a report adopted at yesterday’s House session.

The proposal, sponsored by Rep. Malua T. Peter, did not get support of most agencies responsible for enforcing existing tobacco laws, including the Department of Public Health and the Alcohol Beverage and Tobacco Control.

They stressed the measure does not guarantee that most young people in the community will shun smoking cigarettes, nor it would ensure stricter enforcement by authorities.

“The committee is of the opinion that protection of our youths from the harmful effect of tobacco and tobacco products would be achieved through better enforcement of our existing law prohibiting the sale of tobacco minors and health education,” the report stated.

House Bill 12-8 was the same measure introduced by Ms. Peter last year and passed by the 11th House of Representatives. The issue then was whether the proposal would infringe on individual rights when the voting age of 18 is considered already an adult.

The representative, who also chairs the Health and Welfare Committee, had defended the bill in light of increasing cases of students caught smoking in school premises and poor enforcement of the CNMI Tobacco Act under Public Law 11-75 implemented early last year.

Ms. Peter said that while the bill did not go through, she hopes authorities will tighten implementation of the existing law by adhering to federal regulations that have established guidelines towards enforcing the prohibition on sale of cigarettes to minors.

Meanwhile, the committee also shelved two other bills, including a ban on the sale of spray paint and permanent markers in the CNMI as well as a requirement for couples getting married to undergo counseling and education before a marriage license is issued by the government.

HB 12-2 had sought to curb incidents of vandalism in schools where students use spray paints and markers to write on walls.

According to a committee report adopted by the House, the community should address the problem by developing family oriented programs and other alternative programs to enhance artistic talents of children and youth.

This would “punish the majority of our students by depriving them of painting materials they would need to complete their art assignment from school,” said the report.

On the proposed marriage counseling, Ms. Peter’s committee believed this is not a solution to prevent a couple from divorcing as provided under HB 12-49 offered by Rep. Dino M. Jones.

“To institute legislation to solve a moral dilemma is not the appropriate action that the House should undertake,” it said.