Bill to Ban Flavored Nicotine in Guam Gets Short Pause

A bill aimed at prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products on Guam was withdrawn after the public hearing did not move forward.

Due to lawmakers spending a large amount of time discussing Bill 175-37, which proposes changes to Guam’s Toilet Facilities and Sewage Disposal Act, the next scheduled public hearing for Bill 50-37 had been withdrawn by its sponsor, Sen. Thomas Fisher.

Bill 50 sought to prohibit the sale of flavored vaping and other tobacco products on Guam, according to media reports.

Fisher explained he withdrew Bill 50 to make changes after receiving information from the American Cancer Society.

Fisher further intended to refile the bill immediately with the hope of having a public hearing on the bill Jan. 11.

Last year, lawmakers in Guam proposed to impose a 10 percent excise tax on all vape products for the first year, and then raise it to 20 percent on the second year.

Guam currently has no standardized tax regulations for what the bill describes as electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS).