Senate approves tobacco bills, increasing smoking age to 21

This Aug. 23, 2015, file photo shows smoked cigarettes in an ash try outside Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Mich. This Aug. 23, 2015, file photo shows smoked cigarettes in an ash try outside Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Mich. Photo: Paul Sancya, Associated Press Photo: Paul Sancya, Associated Press Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Senate approves tobacco bills, increasing smoking age to 21 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers sent Gov. Jerry Brown six bills Thursday to tighten restrictions on tobacco products in an effort to curb smoking in the state, including one that would raise the age to purchase cigarettes from 18 to 21.

Brown has not indicated publicly whether he plans to sign the bills, but a high-ranking administration official said last year that the governor would closely consider any legislation that reduces the health impacts of smoking.

Many Republicans said the bills reinforce the perception of California as a “nanny state” and criticized Democrats for circumventing the normal legislative process to push the measures forward. The bills were passed in a special session on health care.

The package includes a measure that would define e-cigarettes as tobacco products and require them to be regulated the same way. Other bills would allow counties and cities to ask for voter approval on tobacco taxes, increase the licensing fee on cigarettes and tobacco products and expand tobacco-free-workplace rules in public places.

Several of the measures stalled last year in an Assembly committee, but lawmakers revived the legislation by introducing them in the special session, which was adjourned Thursday after the bills passed.

The most contentious bill would make it a crime to sell tobacco to anyone under 21, with an exemption for active military personnel. The Senate approved that bill 26-10. The Assembly approved it last week in a 46-26 vote.

Under current law, minors caught smoking could face a $75 fine or community service, but under the legislation approved by lawmakers Thursday, there no longer would be a penalty for anyone under the age of 21 who is caught smoking. It would, however, be a misdemeanor to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under 21.

Brown has 12 days to sign the bill once it reaches his desk. If he does, the law would go into effect 90 days later.

“Opposition from Big Tobacco on this measure has been fierce,” said Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina (Los Angeles County). “Believe me, they have been working this. This only proves how important this is to them and what a big market California is to the tobacco industry.”

Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine (San Diego County), said raising the age to 21 to buy tobacco products will incentivize smoking marijuana, particularly if a ballot initiative is approved that would legalize the recreational use of pot by adults.

“It may be my libertarian streak — but I’m not going to tell someone they shouldn’t do something that may even be harmful to them,” said Sen. John Moorlach, R-Costa Mesa (Orange County).

Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who authored the bill to regulate e-cigarettes, said his legislation would save billions in tax dollars by addressing the health problems that otherwise would be brought by a new generation of nicotine-addicted Californians. Leno’s bill passed the Senate 26-11.

The California chapters of the Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association, a vapor products industry group, have been urging Brown to veto Leno’s bill.

“Treating vapor products like tobacco opens the door to unfair and unwarranted tobacco tax-related implications that will discourage smokers from switching to what science says is an effective and significant alternative to combustible tobacco,” Cynthia Cabrera, president the vapor group, said in a statement.

Supporters say studies don’t support vapor industry claims that their products help smokers kick their harmful habit.

“There is a strong concern that e-cigarettes represent a gateway to traditional cigarettes and other tobacco products,” said Sen. Jeff Stone, R-Palm Desert (Riverside County), who voted in support of Leno’s bill. “All the progress, my friends, that we have made since 1965 to educate people about the hazards of smoking may be for naught, since vaping has started a new generation of nicotine junkies.”

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez