[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3042 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3042

 To amend the Act of October 19, 1949 (15 U.S.C. 375 et seq.; commonly 
referred to as the ``Jenkins Act''), to prevent the interstate sale and 
 delivery of electronic cigarettes, cigars, and pipe tobacco to minors 
                          in violation of law.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 13, 2015

     Ms. DeLauro (for herself, Mr. Rush, Mr. Rangel, Ms. Esty, Mr. 
 Garamendi, and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Act of October 19, 1949 (15 U.S.C. 375 et seq.; commonly 
referred to as the ``Jenkins Act''), to prevent the interstate sale and 
 delivery of electronic cigarettes, cigars, and pipe tobacco to minors 
                          in violation of law.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Tobacco Sales to Youth Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Tobacco products cause numerous serious diseases, 
        including cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease, and 
        they contain nicotine, a highly addictive substance.
            (2) According to the Surgeon General of the United States, 
        adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects 
        of nicotine, and adolescent exposure to nicotine may have 
        lasting adverse consequences for brain development.
            (3) Youth use of electronic cigarettes and hookah (water 
        pipe) has risen according to the National Youth Tobacco Survey 
        released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 
        the Food and Drug Administration, in April 2015.
            (4) Current use of electronic cigarettes among high school 
        students tripled from 4.5 percent in 2013 to 13.4 percent in 
        2014 (compared to 1.5 percent in 2011); approximately 2,000,000 
        high school students currently use these products.
            (5) Current use of electronic cigarettes among middle 
        school students tripled from 1.1 percent in 2013 to 3.9 percent 
        in 2014; approximately 450,000 middle school students currently 
        use these products.
            (6) Current use of hookah among high school students 
        increased from 4.1 percent in 2011 to 9.4 percent in 2014.
            (7) Current use of cigars among high school students was 
        8.2 percent in 2014 (1,200,000 students). Current use of cigars 
        among high school boys was 10.8 percent, about the same rate at 
        which they smoke cigarettes (10.6 percent).
            (8) The sale of electronic cigarettes, cigars, hookah, and 
        other tobacco products over the Internet, and through mail, 
        fax, or phone orders, makes it cheaper and easier for children 
        to obtain these products.
            (9) Electronic cigarettes are being marketed in ways that 
        appeal to youth, in the form of advertising using images that 
        appeal to youth, advertisements on television and the Internet, 
        and sponsorships of events popular with youth, such as concerts 
        and sporting events.
            (10) According to a study published in March 2015 in the 
        Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, 93.7 
        percent of youth participating in a study of Internet 
        electronic cigarette sales successfully purchased electronic 
        cigarettes because the Web sites lacked adequate age-
        verification methods.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS.

    Section 1 of the Act of October 19, 1949 (15 U.S.C. 375); commonly 
referred to as the ``Jenkins Act''), is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) in clause (i) by striking ``and'' at 
                        the end,
                            (ii) in clause (ii) by striking the period 
                        at the end and inserting ``; and'', and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iii) includes electronic cigarettes.'', 
                        and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in the heading by striking 
                        ``Exception'' and inserting ``Inclusions'',
                            (ii) by striking ``does not include'' and 
                        inserting ``includes'', and
                            (iii) by inserting ``and pipe tobacco (as 
                        defined in section 5702 of the Internal Revenue 
                        Code of 1986)'' before the period at the end, 
                        and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
            ``(6A) Electronic cigarette.--The term `electronic 
        cigarette' means any electronic device that delivers nicotine, 
        flavor, or other substance via an aerosolized solution 
        (including an electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, or hookah) to 
        the user inhaling from the device (including any component, 
        liquid, part, or accessory of such a device whether or not sold 
        separately) but excludes product that--
                    ``(A) is approved by the Food and Drug 
                Administration for sale as a tobacco cessation product 
                or for another therapeutic purpose; and
                    ``(B) is marketed and sold solely for a purpose 
                approved as described in subparagraph (A).''.

SEC. 4. EXCLUSIONS REGARDING INDIAN TRIBES AND TRIBAL MATTERS.

    (a) In General.--Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 
Act shall be construed to amend, modify, or otherwise affect--
            (1) any agreements, compacts, or other intergovernmental 
        arrangements between any State or local government and any 
        government of an Indian tribe (as that term is defined in 
        section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
        Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e))) relating to the collection 
        of taxes on cigarettes or smokeless tobacco sold in Indian 
        country;
            (2) any State laws that authorize or otherwise pertain to 
        any such intergovernmental arrangements or create special rules 
        or procedures for the collection of State, local, or tribal 
        taxes on cigarettes or smokeless tobacco sold in Indian 
        country;
            (3) any limitations under Federal or State law, including 
        Federal common law and treaties, on State, local, and tribal 
        tax and regulatory authority with respect to the sale, use, or 
        distribution of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco by or to 
        Indian tribes, tribal members, tribal enterprises, or in Indian 
        country;
            (4) any Federal law, including Federal common law and 
        treaties, regarding State jurisdiction, or lack thereof, over 
        any tribe, tribal members, tribal enterprises, tribal 
        reservations, or other lands held by the United States in trust 
        for one or more Indian tribes; or
            (5) any State or local government authority to bring 
        enforcement actions against persons located in Indian country.
    (b) Coordination of Law Enforcement.--Nothing in this Act or the 
amendments made by this Act shall be construed to inhibit or otherwise 
affect any coordinated law enforcement effort by one or more States or 
other jurisdictions, including Indian tribes, through interstate 
compact or otherwise, that--
            (1) provides for the administration of tobacco product laws 
        or laws pertaining to interstate sales or other sales of 
        tobacco products;
            (2) provides for the seizure of tobacco products or other 
        property related to a violation of such laws; or
            (3) establishes cooperative programs for the administration 
        of such laws.
    (c) Treatment of State and Local Governments.--Nothing in this Act 
or the amendments made by this Act shall be construed to authorize, 
deputize, or commission States or local governments as 
instrumentalities of the United States.
    (d) Enforcement Within Indian Country.--Nothing in this Act or the 
amendments made by this Act shall prohibit, limit, or restrict 
enforcement by the Attorney General of the United States of this Act or 
an amendment made by this Act within Indian country.
    (e) Ambiguity.--Any ambiguity between the language of this section 
or its application and any other provision of this Act shall be 
resolved in favor of this section.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Indian country'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 1 of the Act of October 19, 1949 (15 U.S.C. 
        375; commonly referred to as the ``Jenkins Act''), as amended 
        by this Act; and
            (2) the term ``tribal enterprise'' means any business 
        enterprise, regardless of whether incorporated or 
        unincorporated under Federal or tribal law, of an Indian tribe 
        or group of Indian tribes.

SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, or 
the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, 
the remainder of the Act and the application of the Act to any other 
person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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