The ANTZ came out in force and Gov. Nixon has vetoed the bill. With all of these "health" organizations posturing themselves as the righteous defenders of the public from the evils of Big Tobacco, it's not hard to see why: Missouri Group Against Smoking Pollution (GASP), Greene County Medical Society, Missouri State Medical Association, Missouri Academy of Family Physicians, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Tobacco Free Missouri Coalition.
Here are quotations from his website. I've bolded portions:
“This bill appears to be nothing more than a thinly disguised and cynical attempt to exempt e-cigarettes from taxes and regulations protecting public health,” Nixon says in a news statement. “The FDA is already moving forward to ban the sale of these products to minors. Until more is known about the health effects of these products, letting tobacco companies off the hook with special loopholes would pose a real threat to Missourians’ health now and in the future.”
This past April, the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed new regulations to place e-cigarettes under the same restrictions as traditional tobacco products, including prohibiting the sale or marketing of e-cigarettes to minors, or advertising e-cigarettes on television.
According to a summary of the bill, the legislation would have required anyone selling tobacco products, including alternative nicotine or vapor products, to deny the sale of those products to people under 18 years of age.
The bill also requires sellers of vapor or alternative nicotine products to have a license.
However, the bill goes on to say those type of products would not be taxed or otherwise regulated as tobacco products.
Nixon’s full veto message can be found here. [the link doesn't work]
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) released a statement applauding Nixon's decision to veto the legislation.
“Governor Nixon’s veto means Missouri will not fall victim to Big Tobacco’s trickery. While the bill passed by the Legislature ostensibly prohibits the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors, what it really does is create loopholes and exemptions to Missouri’s tobacco laws for these still unproven and potentially harmful devices," says a statement from the organization. "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already stated it intends to prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors; making it apparent that the real intent of this Big Tobacco bill was to skirt our state’s existing tobacco control laws."
