Governor Pence,
I'm writing to you in reference to HB 1432 which recently passed in the legislature.
I have been using electronic cigarettes since 4/21/09, 6 years ago. They work. I had tried patches, gum, lozenges... Yes, I could smoke and chew gum at the same time. I smoked for 35 years and the e-cig is the only thing that has ever worked.
HB 1432 will make me a criminal. I cut and/or mix my own liquid and have for over 5 years. I am very comfortable with the vendors I purchase from and believe this should be my business and not the state's. I'm not going to stop, and I really don't know why you would sign a bill into law that can't be enforced. I can grow tobacco, make wine, beer.... but for some reason, the state wants to interfere with my ability to ingest nicotine by way of a safer delivery method than combustion.
This bill would also make it illegal for me to give away to a friend a bottle of
e-liquid that I didn't like. I have several.
I don't think there has been any resistance to the portions of the bill that require
-childproof caps
-minimum age requirements for purchase
-hazardous contents warning labels
But these have already been self imposed by the industry and consumer demand. That makes
sense but, I think we all know the FDA is going to mandate that soon anyway. When they do, it can be implemented nationwide, without every state having different regulations.
I seldom use the B&M vendors in my area, but I appreciate that many smokers are able to quit smoking because they saw a storefront, or their kids/friend took them there. They serve a purpose and this bill will probably put many of them out of business.
I find it disturbing to hear our legislators state that they need to regulate e-cigarettes because “we really don't know anything about them”! Really? Because you know less than the citizens you are regulating?
The proponents of this legislation also insinuated that “illegal substances might be put into the liquid”. Well though I have never heard of that, the individual user can potentially still do that. If they are talking about pot, there is a separate herbal vaporizer that would be more practical. So penalizing me for that possibility would be equivalent to making tobacco pipes illegal in the '60's & '70's, oh, and my Grandfather's rolling papers.
I understand that this bill is really designed to get the vendors registered so the industry and thus the users can be taxed to recoup tobacco tax revenues lost from myself and the many, many others no longer buying cigarettes. Through the years of Indiana tobacco tax increases, I bought mine in Kentucky. I quit smoking right about the time my President added a $1/pack tax to cigarettes. That was supposed to be an incentive to quit. That one worked. Now you want that money back?
Please tell me why the tobacco company products are going to be exempt from this regulation. Have you considered regulating them?
Have you considered limiting the ingredients in their cigarettes to be only tobacco? Banning the other 599 additives in their recipe book? Might they not be as tolerable or as addictive without ammonia to get that nicotine across the blood brain barrier faster.
If you really don't want Hoosiers to smoke, how about banning tobacco sales in the state of Indiana?
My other issue is with all the emphasis on teenagers using electronic cigarettes.
Wouldn't those kids otherwise be smoking cigarettes? I started smoking cigarettes at 14 -15 years of age. I wish ecigs had been an option.
Please rethink signing this legislation. It's knee jerk, overreach and I believe will only serve to eliminate a viable smoking alternative which could minimize healthcare expenses over the long term.
My father recently died with COPD, I will probably still suffer from it as a consequence of my years of smoking. E-cigarettes are an alternative and more evaluation needs to be done. Smoke(combustion) and nicotine are two very different things. I'm sure you have contacts at Lilly that can enlighten you on the current research that is being done on nicotine. It may prove to be out next wonder drug.
I hope you will consider my input.
Respectfully,
