Maybe the issue is geopolitical... (USA v China)

[D103]

I agree Mop and several of Dr. Siegel's blogs explain this somewhat 'hidden monopoly policy' in great detail. It is utterly outrageous that this Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act passed and it should be absolutely illegal.

[dubd1c3]

I have a theory that e-cig criminalization actually succeeded in New York and NJ because of Pfizer and JnJ (Big NRT) are headquartered there... combined with existing anti-smoking efforts there... ban success.

[GtrSoloist]

I have to agree with dubd1c3, I think the legality of e-cig's will remain up in the air until big business and the government figure out how make the most money from it.

[Thulium]

I have a theory that e-cig criminalization actually succeeded in New York and NJ because of Pfizer and JnJ (Big NRT) are headquartered there... combined with existing anti-smoking efforts there... ban success.

Except that "e-cig criminalization actually" did NOT succeed in NY & NJ because of the efforts of members of our community rallying against the paid shills from BP prohibitionists and explaining the truth.

Unfortunately, New Jersey did manage to include e-cigs in their smoking ban, but I am confident that it won't stand up to judicial review because it bans "anything that can be inhaled and exhaled"

[dubd1c3]

When you say did not succeed, do you mean for import or use?

New York might have a law against importing pvs but not using them. Likewise with NJ.

Can you be more specific about what succeeded and what failed regarding NJ and NY? Please use sources.

[Vocalek]

Currently, neither New York nor New Jersy has a law of any kind against sales of pvs -- not for lack of trying. Members of the CASAA and NVC made in-person trips to meet with legislators and even the New York Health Department to rally against those laws. Many member of ECF jumped in to make phone calls, send emails, or snail mail to legislators. The laws that were proposed would have levied heavy fines against anyone who sold the products in the respective states.

Here is one of the threads on the New York legislation. Nearing disaster in New York - please take action NOW to prevent e-cigarette ban.

New Jersey did manage to include e-cigarettes in its indoor smoking ban. I'll leave it up to you to use the wonderful search feature on ECF to track down the blow-by-blow on what happened in New Jersey.

[dubd1c3]

So New York narrowly escaped legislation the way of Illinois.. good. I will look into New Jersey. Stop e-cig ban now might have different info on these two States though, I will have to look into this.

[sailorman]

See now isn't that kind of... illegal? Microsoft can't sponsor a law that makes Macs illegal, can it?

I mean, honestly. Are antitrust and monopoly even real words anymore?

Microsoft has the legal right to contribute as much money as they want to any politician running for any office, including challengers to Mac's politicians. They can sponsor any law they choose, and they can hire as many lobbyists as they like to push for any laws they, or their lobbyists have written. The SCOTUS says so. IF they thought they could get them past the courts, they could write laws to outlaw Macs and fund politicians to sponsor them. Look at what's happening with net neutrality.

Anti-trust and monopoly are real words. They just don't mean what people think they do. The anti-trust division of the DOJ was downsized starting during the Reagan admin. (remember the M&A orgy) and practically put in mothballs under GWB. Enforcement is virtually non-existent. Our economic system is not so much capitalism anymore, rather it is based on monopoly-capitalism.

That is how we ended up with 5 media companies owning 80% of the media and a 90% reduction in the number of oil companies and banks. That's how we ended up with trans-national corporations that have no responsibility to the U.S., it's workers or it's economy, but are nonetheless "too big to fail".