HEADS UP - NEWS - UPDATES! (When we know, you'll know!)

[kristin]

@kristin

Is CASAA aware of these bills in Kentucky? I don't really understand what they do.

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/24rs/hb11.html

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/24rs/sb344.html

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Yes, we are aware of it. Alex is already putting together a Call to Action. At this point the bills have been introduced in committees, but it looks like they haven't scheduled for a reading or any hearings yet. He had several other Calls to Action that took priority because they had hearings coming up this past week and next week (some with very short notice.)

They are both PMTA registry bills.

 

[kristin]

With their mission to protect the young from #vaping, regulators forgot that in a world WITHOUT vaping, many young people WOULD BE SMOKING. The problem for tobacco control is that without serious harm, the movement loses its purpose & its reason to exist.

https://tobaccoreporter.com/2024/03/01/tobacco-controls-nervous-breakdown

 

[kristin]

Australian lawmakers and Tobacco Control stated that the vape ban wouldn't criminalize vapers in any way. Personal possession and use of vapes, they said, is not — and will not be — criminalized. True la-la land thinking.

This is how the bans are playing out in reality. Something is very wrong when laws meant to "protect youth" like this 13 year old teen (and the teens in the US who have been similarly treated by law enforcement) appear to be causing more harm to them than good.

Video: Shocking moment teenager is thrown to the ground by police from vaping | Daily Mail Online

 

[kristin]

While the headline states "Zyn Is the New Vaping," the facts presented in the article make it perfectly clear that the comparison is not "an apples-to-apples comparison" or "even an apples-to-asteroids comparison."

The chart compares the dramatic vaping rise (frequently blamed on JUUL by anti-vaping groups) vs. the very low and slow rise in the use of nicotine pouches. There really is no comparison!

https://time.com/6836195/zyn-nicotine-pouches-popularity

 

[kristin]

"Researchers completed an evaluation of small and larger blood vessels to assess their functionality in 21 regular users of e-cigarettes [ages 21-31]."

IMPORTANT NOTE: The abstract does NOT disclose if the "regular users" currently or formerly SMOKED.

https://news.vcu.edu/article/2024/03/regular-e-cigarette-use-could-lead-to-premature-vascular-dysfunction-vcu-study-finds

 

[kristin]

Only 30% - 50% of people who smoke attempt to quit annually and only 7.5% succeed.

Public health knows this yet urge lawmakers to ban #vaping and other smoke-free products that would significantly reduce risks for those folks who can't or won't quit!

Only 1 in 4 rural US smokers attempted to quit during a one year period

While overall smoking rates among U.S. adults are declining, many communities remain disproportionately burdened by commercial tobacco use and the associated negative health consequences. Smoking prevalence among rural adults stood at 19.2% in 2020, compared to 14.4% for their urban...

twin-cities.umn.edu

 

[WorksForMe]

VIRGINIA
URGENT Senate HEARING SCHEDULED for SB 550/HB 1069 on Monday, February 26th at 15 minutes after adjournment!

Unless you want to only have access to Big Tobacco vapes in your state, take action NOW!

TAKE ACTION: https://casaa.org/call-to-action/virginia-stop-the-joe-camel-protection-act/

View attachment 1008616

It looks like these bills have passed the House and Senate and are headed to the Governors desk. With any luck he'll veto them, but its not looking good.

.

 

[kristin]

WISCONSIN
In May 2023, WI lawmakers introduced SB 268, which mainly overhauled alcohol laws. It also required #vaping product retailers to be licensed the same as tobacco retailers, beginning May 6, 2024. (No red flags.)

Original Bill: https://legiscan.com/WI/text/SB268/id/2796865

The only public hearing for SB 268 was held in August 2023. On November 14, 2023, lawmakers both quietly added and quickly passed an amendment that is identical to the devastating PMTA registry bills that are being introduced around the country.

See: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2023/related/lcactmemo/act073

PMTA registry bills (also known as "Big Tobacco Protection Acts") require products sold in the state to either have submitted applications or have received FDA marketing authorization. They must also pay to be on a state registry.

Manufacturers who sell or wholesale vaping products in the state must comply by July 2025.

Because the bill was originally about alcohol and was signed into law by Governor Evers with 50+ other bills on the SAME DAY, news articles had little to say about the PMTA registry amendment -- if at all. Most only mentioned the original tobacco license requirement.

This will put hundreds of WI independent vape shops out of business, hundreds of workers out of jobs, and thousands of people at risk of returning to smoking, or delaying attempts at quitting.

It's unconscionable that this was not introduced as a stand-alone bill along with public hearings!

 

[kristin]

Colorado lawmakers once again kill bill to ban flavored "tobacco" [really intended to ban flavored #vaping products.]

“I don't think we should essentially penalize adults because we want to keep something away from our children." ~ Rep. Regina English (D - El Paso County)

The bill “would stop a bunch of small businesses, the vape shops that do sell to adults, the hookah shop." ~ Rep. Naquetta Ricks (D - Aurora)

READ MORE: Colorado Democrats once again kill bill to regulate flavored tobacco | Colorado Public Radio

 

[WorksForMe]

VIRGINIA

Unless you want to only have access to Big Tobacco vapes in your state, take action NOW!

TAKE ACTION: https://casaa.org/call-to-action/virginia-stop-the-joe-camel-protection-act/

View attachment 1008616

Call-to-Action has been updated. Virginia residents, please send message to Governor Youngkin asking him to reject SB 550 / HB 1069.

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[kristin]

CASAA LIVE
TODAY at 4:30 ET/3:30 CT! On this episode, Alex and Logan speak with Bengt Wiberg, an outspoken Swedish advocate for low risk snus. Bengt helped found the advocacy network EU for Snus and invented "sting-free" snus pouches.

Snus and Other Smoke-free Alternatives with Bengt Wiberg

On today's show, Alex and Logan speak with special guest Bengt Wiberg, an outspoken Swedish advocate for snus, a very low risk tobacco alternative to smoking...

youtube.com

 

[kristin]

CASAA has concluded the Call to Action for SB 22, which would have created a patchwork of #vaping product bans across Colorado, as SUCCESSFUL! The bill was defeated by a vote of 6-5 in the House Committee on Business Affairs and Labor.

READ MORE: https://tobaccoreporter.com/2024/03/09/colorado-flavor-ban-bill-killed-by-general-assembly/

Unfortunately, lawmakers have now introduced HB 1356, an equally harmful, statewide "Big Tobacco Protection Bill." That means the fight isn't over in Colorado!

TAKE ACTION NOW: https://casaa.org/call-to-action/colorado-stop-a-big-tobacco-protection-act/

 

[kristin]

CASAA Weekly News Roundup

Tobacco Control’s nervous breakdown over #vaping. Zyn is NOT the new vaping. WI sneaks a “Big Tobacco Protection” law into an alcohol reform bill. CO Lawmakers Kill Flavor Ban Bill. MANY Calls to Action & more!

https://casaa.org/tobacco-controls-nervous-breakdown-over-vaping-and-more-tobacco-harm-reduction-news

 

[kristin]

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld Brookline’s nonsensical ban on the sale of tobacco products to anyone born this century.

"A local board of health telling some adults what they can or can’t do, which is legal for other adults. This is complete insanity."

https://www.bostonherald.com/2024/03/09/massachusetts-highest-court-allows-brookline-ban-on-tobacco-sales-for-adults-born-this-century/

 

[kristin]

Lawmakers in Iowa face an unusual coalition of "Baptists and Bootleggers" as tobacco harm reduction advocates, small businesses and public health orgs are unexpectedly in agreement in opposition to a PMTA directory bill aka a "Big Tobacco Protection" Act.

Iowa vape bill draws odd coalition of opponents

The proposal backed would restrict vape sales in the state and, opponents say, leave Big Tobacco stronger.

www.thegazette.com

 

[kristin]

This article published in Pediatrics demonstrates how absurdly ignorant so-called "experts" are about #vaping culture. They think terms created by adult vapers – such as "vape," "e-liquid" and "e-juice" – are "tobacco-industry-popularized terminology." ‍

https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/doi/10.1542/peds.2023-064501/196861/Suggestions-to-Avoid-Perpetuating-Tobacco-Industry

 

[kristin]

Florida THR advocates and vape businesses successfully protested HB 1007 (aka a "Big Tobacco Protection" Act) last week, resulting in a bill that passed in both the Senate and House with an EXEMPTION for refillable devices and bottled e-liquids.

Legislature approves flavor-targeting vape restrictions, but exempts e-liquids

The amended bill gives Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office free rein over which single-use vape products to ban.

floridapolitics.com

 

[kristin]

In this article, oncologist Kathryn DeCarli spreads dangerous DISINFORMATION by stating so-called "EVALI" cases "provide some insights into the effects of nicotine inhalation in the body."

There is ZERO EVIDENCE linking "EVALI" with NICOTINE inhalation.

Brown researchers discussed internal Juul document release, e-cigarette research - The Brown Daily Herald

Serving the Brown community since 1891

www.browndailyherald.com

 

[kristin]

Contradictions cloud vape tax debate at State House hearing:

"Let’s be honest. This has nothing to do with children."

Contradictions cloud vape tax debate at State House hearing • Rhode Island Current

Vape users and small business owners decried the proposed 80% tax on e-cigarettes in a State House hearing Tuesday.

rhodeislandcurrent.com

 

[kristin]

Expanding the Drug War To Include Tobacco Would Be a Big Mistake

"The judicially approved Brookline ban reflects a broader trend among progressives who should know better."

"Even as moral statements, these [tobacco and #vaping product bans] are flagrantly illiberal, standing for the proposition that adults cannot be trusted to decide for themselves which psychoactive substances they want to consume."

Well said, Jacob Sullum!

https://reason.com/2024/03/13/expanding-the-drug-war-to-include-tobacco-would-be-a-big-mistake