A co-worker of mine sent me an article, I can't post links yet
Good job to all who sent in there comments!
From 24-7pressrelease.com
COLLEYVILLE, TX, October 14, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- According to a release on the State of California web site today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declined to sign Senate Bill 400. On September 11, 2009, the California Senate passed Bill 400. The bill was originally written as "The Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program", and then was amended to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors, which was very supportable. Additional wording in the bill would have also banned the sale of electronic cigarettes in the state of California to adults.
In a statement on the California Government web site, Governor Schwarzenegger made it clear that there is a difference between the freedoms of adults and children. In the letter, the governor made the following comments.
"I am returning Senate Bill 400 without my signature. While I support restricting access of electronic cigarettes to children under the age of 18, I cannot sign a measure that also declares them a federally regulated drug when the matter is currently being decided through pending litigation. Items defined as "tobacco products" are legal for anyone over the age of 18. If adults want to purchase and consume these products with an understanding of the associated health risks, they should be able to do so unless and until federal law changes the legal status of these tobacco products.
For this reason, I am unable to sign this bill.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger"
Electronic cigarettes or E Cigarettes recently appeared and became increasingly popular as the wave of anti-smoking laws were enacted across the country. The E Cigarette is a futuristic advance in science that looks, feels, tastes like a tobacco cigarette and requires the same mechanical motions. They expel an almost odorless water vapor that looks like smoke, but isn't. It gives the user the full effect of smoking real tobacco without harsh tobacco smoke and without second hand smoke irritation or offending others. Thousands of smokers have made the switch to electronic cigarettes to escape the stigma of smoking as well as the health issues associated with tobacco.
"I think Governor Schwarzenegger made an intelligent decision" states Kyle Newton of eCigarettesChoice.com. California has always been on the leading edge of being a Green State and the electronic cigarette is a great alternative to tobacco. We can only hope that other states follow this example and examine the electronic cigarette as a harm reduction alternative over the hazardous tobacco cigarette. Besides tar and carbon monoxide, tobacco smoke contains approximately 4,000 different chemical, many of which are known be toxic to humans."
The electronic cigarette has come under attack by special interest groups who have yet to produce any scientific evidence that the electronic cigarette is harmful to humans, or that electronic cigarette dealers target youth with their products. If it is proven that the electronic cigarette can be a more effective smoking cessation device than the patches and gums, the companies who fund these groups will certainly see their stock plunge.
It appears that Governor Schwarzenegger did not buckle under the pressure of special interest groups to take away the freedom and individual rights from his voters.
