HB 605: Public Health, Department of; continue operation of Georgia Tobacco Quit Line, subject to appropriations of funds; require

The Georgia Tobacco Quit Line is a phone and text based service that helps people quit smoking, vaping, and using other tobacco products. This bill writes the Quit Line into Georgia law for the first time, in a new section of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-21). It requires the Department of Public Health to keep operating the Quit Line, but only subject to state funding or other available money, meaning the requirement does not force new spending on its own. The bill spells out what the Quit Line must offer: 24/7 availability, services in multiple languages, support for pregnant and postpartum users, free nicotine replacement supplies for adults, and referrals to lung cancer screening. It also requires the department to create signage and handouts about the Quit Line, and requires any business that sells cigarettes, vapor products, or other tobacco products to post that signage and distribute the materials to customers.

• Requires the Department of Public Health to continue operating the Georgia Tobacco Quit Line, but only subject to state appropriations or other available funds.
• Requires the Quit Line to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and offer phone, text, and internet based cessation services to users 13 and older.
• Adds a new service requiring the Quit Line to provide lung cancer screening information, eligibility evaluation, and referrals to screening.
• Requires free nicotine replacement supplies, like gum or patches, for qualified Georgia residents 18 and older.
• Requires the department to design signage and handout materials about the Quit Line, and requires retailers selling tobacco or vapor products to post the signage and give customers the materials.
• Requires the department to follow privacy and data security laws and use only de-identified data to track the Quit Line's performance.

Georgians who smoke, vape, or use tobacco or nicotine products, including pregnant and postpartum women; the Department of Public Health, which must keep running and fund the Quit Line; and retailers that sell cigarettes, tobacco, vapor, or alternative nicotine products, who must post signage and distribute materials.

Georgians trying to quit tobacco or nicotine use would get a state-backed hotline offering free supplies, multilingual support, and new referrals to lung cancer screening. Tobacco and vapor retailers would face a new legal duty to display signage and hand customers information about the service.

• New Code Section 31-2A-21(a) defines key terms like 'tobacco product' and 'vapor product' by reference to O.C.G.A. § 16-12-170 and defines the 'Quit Line' itself.
• Subsection (b) requires the department to continue operating the Quit Line 'subject to appropriations or the availability of other funds,' so the mandate depends on funding being available.
• Subsection (c) lists required Quit Line features: 24/7 availability, multilingual support, services for pregnant and postpartum users, free nicotine replacement therapy for adults 18+, and lung cancer screening referrals.
• Subsection (c)(8)-(10) requires the Quit Line to follow national treatment guidelines and comply with privacy and data security laws.
• Subsection (d) requires the department to design written materials and signage about the Quit Line, including lung cancer screening information and contact details.
• Subsection (e) requires any business selling cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco related objects, vapor products, or alternative nicotine products to post the department's signage and distribute the materials to purchasers.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-27House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2025-02-26House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2025-02-24House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Marvin Lim (D, HD-098)Patrocinador principal
• Shea Roberts (D, HD-052)
• Karen Lupton (D, HD-083)

• tobacco cessation
• public health
• lung cancer screening
• vaping regulation
• retailer requirements