AB886 - Nicotine: cessation.

Amended IN Assembly April 22, 2025 Amended IN Assembly March 24, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 886 Introduced by Assembly Member Krell February 19, 2025 An act to add Section 104391 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to vaping. nicotine. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 886, as amended, Krell. Vaping. Nicotine: cessation. Existing law establishes the Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee (TEROC) to advise the State Department of Public Health and the State Department of Education with respect to policy development, integration, and evaluation of tobacco education programs funded under specified provisions. This bill would require TEROC to develop and oversee a statewide community education plan to translate, disseminate, and apply research findings from the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program related to teenage vaping and nicotine cessation. The bill would require TEROC to develop a plan to identify and share best practices on effective, developmentally appropriate nicotine cessation strategies for youth, as specified. The bill would also require the State Department of Public Health to establish a pilot program in the County of Los Angeles, the County of Sacramento, and the County of Santa Clara to, among other things, implement targeted intervention programs for youth under 21 years of age who are addicted to nicotine and to prioritize developmentally appropriate cessation strategies over traditional nicotine replacement therapies. Existing law establishes, within the California Health and Human Services Agency, the State Department of Public Health, which has authority over various programs promoting public health. Existing law declares that smoking is the single most important source of preventable disease and premature death in California, and it is the intent of the Legislature to require the department, along with the State Department of Education, to cooperatively and individually conduct activities directed at the prevention of tobacco use and tobacco-related diseases. This bill would require the department to establish and administer a grant program to support research and other efforts toward effective teenage vaping and nicotine cessation strategies. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the Tobacco Cessation Policy Research Center, if it chooses to participate, to fund, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, grants to support specified efforts, including education and outreach to schools, health care providers, and community organizations. The bill would authorize grants to be awarded to qualifying entities, including colleges or universities, or to an individual conducting research in California. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 104391 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 104391. (a) The Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee (TEROC) shall develop and oversee a statewide community education plan to translate, disseminate, and apply research findings from the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program related to teenage vaping and nicotine cessation. (b) TEROC shall develop a plan to identify and share best practices on effective, developmentally appropriate nicotine cessation strategies for youth. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, targeted outreach and education efforts directed at all of the following: (1) Health care providers and health systems serving youth populations. (2) Community-based organizations that engage with youth, including, but not limited to, youth experiencing disproportionate tobacco-related harms. (3) Local educational agencies, including school districts and county offices of education. (c) The goal of the statewide plan shall be to ensure broad implementation of evidence-based nicotine cessation strategies and interventions tailored to adolescents, recognizing that traditional nicotine replacement therapies have not been deemed appropriate for youth under 21 years of age. (d) In addition to the statewide plan, the department shall establish a pilot program in the County of Los Angeles, the County of Sacramento, and the County of Santa Clara. The pilot program shall do all of the following: (1) Implement targeted intervention programs for youth under 21 years of age who are addicted to nicotine, using best available research. (2) Include culturally responsive, youth-centered program models that take into account the unique behavioral, psychological, and social aspects of nicotine addiction in adolescents. (3) Prioritize developmentally appropriate cessation strategies over traditional nicotine replacement therapies. (4) Be implemented in collaboration with local health departments and community-based organizations with a demonstrated history of work on nicotine cessation in those regions. (e) Funding for activities in this section shall not be derived from the California Healthcare, Research, and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016 (Proposition 56) or the Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Act of 1988 (Proposition 99) tobacco tax revenues. SECTION 1. Section 104391 is added to the Health and Safety Code , to read: 104391. (a) The department shall establish and administer a grant program to support research and other efforts toward effective teenage vaping and nicotine cessation strategies. The department, in consultation with the Tobacco Cessation Policy Research Center, if it chooses to participate, shall fund, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, grants to support all of the following: (1) Research that identifies effective, developmentally appropriate cessation strategies for teenage vaping and nicotine use, recognizing that traditional nicotine replacement therapies are not suitable for adolescents. (2) The creation and testing of interventions designed for adolescents, considering the limitations of current cessation methods. (3) Education and outreach to schools, health care providers, and community organizations to implement evidence-based cessation programs statewide. (b) Grants may be awarded under this section to a qualifying public or nonprofit private agency, including, but not limited to, a college, university, hospital, clinic, research institution, local health department, county office of education, or school district, or to a qualifying individual conducting research in California.