Organizations with the Ability to Listen

[LaceyUnderall]

Dragon -

Someone for you to review: DMI > About

Let me know what you think... if it's a good one... we can start a thread for NY.

[dragonpuff]

Dragon -

Someone for you to review: DMI > About

Let me know what you think... if it's a good one... we can start a thread for NY.

Quote from their mission statement: "We seek to change policy by conducting research into overlooked but important social and economic issues, by leveraging our strategic relationships to engage policymakers and opinion-leaders in our work and by offering platforms to amplify the ideas of those who are working for social and economic fairness. The goal: progressive public policy to strengthen and expand our ever-more squeezed middle class and aspiring middle class."

They don't appear to have any history working with tobacco-control policies, but I could see them pushing for harm-reduction strategies in an attempt to improve the health of the disproportionately large amount of smokers in the middle and lower classes.

I think they would be willing to help once they find that current anti-tobacco policies aren't working and are preventing people from utilizing less harmful alternatives to smoking.

The only catch is that they work primarily for New York City and on a national level, not particularly for the state. But i still think it's worthwhile

Thank you Lacey!

[Vocalek]

This group does not yet include Tobacco, but I believe we should contact them and ask them to consider adding us to their mission.


Harm Reduction Coalition.:.Index

Contact

East Coast Office:

22 West 27th Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Tel: (212) 213-6376
Fax: (212) 213-6582
e-mail: hrc [a] harmreduction.org

Harm Reduction Training Institute (NY):

22 West 27th Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Tel: (212) 683-2334
Fax: (212) 213-6582
e-mail: hrti [a] harmreduction.org
West Coast Office:

1440 Broadway, Suite 510
Oakland, CA 94612
Tel: (510) 444-6969
Fax: (510) 444-6977
e-mail: hrcwest [a] harmreduction.org

[mtndude]

posted this in another thread. seems to fit in here. i can't attest to how fair FAIR is... but some good info there.

http://www.fair.org

FAIR wants to hear about your media activism. Please send copies of your letters to journalists to
FAIR
112 W. 27th St.
New York, NY 10001
fair@fair.org

adding this, because it's somewhat buried on the site:
Fair.org Media Activism Kit

[sherid]

Freedom Works is in the news today as they are marching on Washington DC by the thousands. I found this on their site concerning smoking ban, so I think they might listen.
FreedomWorks North Carolina Takes on Smoking Ban | FreedomWorks

[sherid]

Health, Welfare & Entitlements | Cato Institute
Cato's entitlement research demonstrates that consumers are better off when they, and not the government, are in charge of how their money is spent. This applies to health care, Social Security, and other areas where the government currently controls the dispersal of our tax dollars. In particular, Cato has been a longtime advocate of deregulating the health care industry, so that consumers can afford the health care insurance and treatment of their choice, and privatizing Social Security

[nojoyet]

CAGE Canada is very good. CAGE

Please see note/question (Caution) on the Canada thread.

[eric]

I've contacted 'The John Birch Society' a few times. Nothing promising, but maybe if more folks blew their phone lines up they'd grant us some legitimacy.

[Bill Godshall]

While I don't want to discourage anyone from trying to solicit advocacy assistance from any organization or individual, many/most of the organizations cited (on this section of the forum) are libertarian, anti tax, anti government, right-to-smoke and/or right wing (i.e. Republicans).

Although any and all support is desirable, I think the most important organizations to solicit support for e-cigarettes (as alternatives to cigarettes) are health, healthcare, scientific, liberal, and anti-smoking organizations (i.e. Democratics).

Most e-cigarette prohibitionists and critics are anti-tobacco extremists, liberal or left wing.

If the contraversy over e-cigarettes becomes too partisan (as appears to becoming the case), e-cigarettes could well be banned in jurisdications controlled by Democrats.

Also, while many anti tax and libertarian organizations may be sympathetic to e-cigarettes, many/most of those organizations only advocate for/against legislation that is of financial concern to their wealthy corporate and/or right wing contributors.

[Vocalek]

We'd welcome any suggestions you might have.

The very organizations I thought would be thrilled about people no longer lighting up tobacco cigarettes are our very vocal opponents. It boggles my mind that the Lung Assocation wants me to go back to wheezing and coughing up junk every morning. It seems that sticking to their moral stance of "nicotine abstinence" is much more important to them than the problem of people getting sick and dying.