Wisconsin Assembly passes bill to ban "nicotine product" sales to minors

[Bill Godshall]

WI Assembly approves legislation to ban sales of "nicotine products" to minors
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/related/amendments/ab93/asa1_ab93

Don't know why they didn't just amend the definition of "tobacco product" (in the existing WI law that bans sales of tobacco products to minors) to include an "e-cigarette" or "nicotine product".

I suspect that e-cigarette opponents are behind this legislation, and it appears that they still want to classify and demonize "e-cigarettes" as "nicotine products that aren't approved by the FDA" even though e-cigarettes are legally considered a "tobacco product" under the FSPTCA.

 

[Placebo Effect]

As I recall, Wisconsin just got something like $24 million from the CDC through the Communities Putting Prevention to Work program for tobacco and obesity issues, so expect some terrible legislation to flow from that in the next year or so.

 

[Bill Godshall]

CDC to give $24 million grants to University of Wisconsin to "promote tobacco-free living' (among other things)
Public health grants totaling $24 million awarded to Wisconsin - JSOnline

The good news is that Republicans control the WI Governor's office, Senate and Assembly, and nearly all anti tobacco extremists in WI are liberal Democrats.

 

[Stubby]

At least it doesn't raise taxes..... again.

I don't see how the law really does anything that wasn't already done. Perhaps the wording of nicotine is more inclusive to include e-cigs. What is interesting to me is that it is illegal for anyone under 18 to possess any nicotine/tobacco products. Good luck with that one. Not sure if that part is new.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Stubby wrote:

What is interesting to me is that it is illegal for anyone under 18 to possess any nicotine/tobacco products.

The current law in WI (and about half of the other states) prohibits anyone under 18 from possessing tobacco, and the legislation approved by the WI Assembly would (among other things) expand that also include "nicotine products".

In response to our efforts (back in the 1980's and 1990's) to ban cigarette marketing and sales to minors (and to better enforce those laws), the tobacco industry responded by criticizing and scapegoating youth smokers and by advocating laws in all 50 states to ban minors from purchasing, possessing and/or using tobacco products.

I was the most vocal critic of these laws, and was featured on a segment of CBS NEWS 60 Minutes back in 1999 exposing this strategy by the tobacco industry to blame and criminalize youth for possessing or using tobacco products.

Several reasons why the tobacco industry deployed this strategy was to protect themselves from lawsuits (filed by people who became hooked on cigarettes as youth), and to try to shift the blame and accountability (for youth smoking) away from the industy and onto the youth.