“Many businesses and communities in this state are using paper drinking straws and stirrers as a purportedly better option for public health and the environment,” HB 2195 states.
“However, independent university studies have shown that most paper straws contain harmful PFAS chemicals, exposure to which is linked to concerning health risks.”
The bill states that any regulation of drinking strawsmust be based on “government policy driven by science.”
In a 2023 study published in the journal Food Additives and Contaminants, University of Antwerp researchers in Belgium found that 90% of paper straw brands tested contained PFAS chemicals.
Researchers found PFAS chemicals in 27 of 39 different straw variants, concluding the chemicals were most likely used as a water-repellent coating.