[ Just paste broken links shown in purple directly into your browser - the extra line doesn't matter. Tweaks to the formatting algo. done for now, but PM me w/ sugg.s/comments pls. ]
1) Updated CASAA calls on MD for "smokeless" tobacco tax (not yet applied to vaping) and RI's proposed tax and virtual online sales ban - hearing date change to 3/6.
2) UT HB 112 (online sales ban among other things) out of committee, now on House floor.
3) OK SB 1892 out of committee - exempts vapor products from tobacco tax. See "Lots of e-cig bills introduced in Oklahoma, hearing held" thread in legis. forum. Also Gary Cox InfoZone article is linked-to there, in post #26 (as well as the AP story which is getting picked up in a lot of places).
4) KY HB 309 which appeared initially to be a simple minor sales ban may morph into a tax bill - now out of committee and on to the house floor. See "Kentucky bill (HB 267) would ban e-cig sales to minors, but require reporting of e-cig sales to retailers" thread in Legislation, post #6.
5) Gainesville FL to consider extending clean air act (vaping = smoking).
6) New paper coming out indicating that vaping is at least as effective as the patch for cessation.
7) Altria (formerly Phillip Morris Int'l) to take Big Ten all-in-ones nationally, w/ ad campaign.
8) More dirt on GlaxoSmithKline's e-mail to the Health and Consumer Affirs div. of the EU. Glaxo says that a "two-tier nicotine system" in Europe would "seriously disadvantage proven nicotine replacement therapy products." (Surprise.)
9) Frisco, TX passes vaping=smoking indoor clean air act ord.
10) Glantz updates blog to remove his accusation to the effect that the vaping industry has orchestrated a campaign of support within "right wing think tanks."
Coverage: EU, US States: FL, MN, IA, TX, ND, SD, UT
Coverage in Legis Forum as described above: OK, KY
***
Tip: to see whether there are bad things happening where you live, try this Google search (example for Rhode Island) -
rhode site:casaa.org
(Replace rhode with a single word that describes your city, county, or state. For ex., if you live in Eau Claire, WI - you might use "Claire" to see if something is being proposed at the city level. Don't forget the : (colon), and be sure that there's nothing before or after the colon (not even spaces or tabs.)
You can also try replacing site:casaa.org with e-cigarette to find out what the media is reporting in your area. This is usually most helpful if you use the search tools to search by date. (CASAA doesn't generally issue calls or alerts until a bill is out of a state legislative committee, or is scheduled for a local city or county hearing.)
***
(CASAA Call on MD - updted for new bill) CASAA: Call to Action: Maryland Wants to Raise the Tax on Smokeless Tobacco from 30% to 95%
Raises tax on"smokeless" tobacco to 95% of wholesale, which CASAA expects to see applied to vaping in the future. HB 443 (ditto) has a hearing on Thurs (tomorrow) at 1p in Ways and Means; SB 589 hearing on Weds (next week) at 1p in Budget and Tax. Also see the other CASAA call on a vaping=smoking ext. to the Clean Air Act: CASAA: Call to Action: Maryland E-Cigarette Usage Ban - HB 1291 hearing on Weds 3/5 at 1p in House Office Bldg.
(CASAA Call on RI - updted for new hearing date) CASAA: Call to Action! Rhode Island Bills Impose 80% Tax on E-Cigarettes and Unreasonable Requirements for Online Sales
H7021 and H7133 would impose 80% wholesale tax on vaping and create unreasonable barriars to online sales. Hearing 4p in rm. 35 of State House on 3/6.
(Dr. Siegal's blog, re: Letter by Harkin, Waxman & Welch to state A/Gs) http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/02/trampling-on-constitution-democratic.html
Siegal argues that enforcement of the MSA taxes would violate the constitution by applying the MSA to parties who weren't part of the agreement.
(CASAA VP C.V. Phillips on demonization of smokers) Demonization of tobacco users (or, just because it is a puff piece does not mean I cannot analyze it) | Anti-THR Lies and related topics
(ECF's own InfoZone) Search Engines and the E-Cig - ECF InfoZone
Gary Cox discusses how search engine algo.s affect public awareness of vaping.
(Glantz's blog) http://www.tobacco
.ucsf.edu/blogs/sglantz
Noteworthy because the post accusing vapers of orchestrating a campaign of support from "right wing think tanks has been removed. This is what Dr. Siegal had to say about that yesterday: http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/02/anti-tobacco-researcher-accuses.html
***
(US Nat'l Bus - re: EU/Glaxo E-mail) Glaxo Memo Shows Drug Industry Lobbying on E-Cigarettes - Businessweek
general junk-free article, for more dirt see: http://velvetgloveironfist.blogspot
.com/2014/02/big-pharma-and-little-e-cigarettes.html
***
(US Nat'l Inst.s of Health official site) http://www.ncbi
.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24530995?dopt=Abstract
Abstract of a paper to be published entitled Electronic cigarettes are at least as effective as nicotine patches for smoking cessation. No other info. seems to be available. However I believe the second author is one of the EU scientests who signed the pro-vaping letter to the EU, and has published a paper called If wisely regulated, electronic cigarettes can make cigarettes obsolete. which I can't seem to find a link for.
(Associated Press - US Nat'l) http://www.sltrib
.com/sltrib/money/57567635-79/cigarette-electronic-company-altria.html.csp
PMI (Altria (formerly Phillip Morris Int'l) will be expanding its Big Ten brand nationally, along with an ad campaign. No junk. There are scores of reprints today. I haven't collected them.
(US Air Force Official News site) http://www.af
.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/473363/electronic-cigarette-use-increasing-among-airmen.aspx
Junky article warns of increased use by AF personel, contains minor junk as well. The USAF has banned vaping on its bases by extending its Tobacco Use policy, I believe it's the only service to have done so.
(US Nat'l political 'zine) http://dailycaller
.com/2014/02/19/e-cigarette-bans-and-propaganda-are-driven-by-cronyism-not-public-health/
Pro-vaping article by physician contains no junk.
(US Online Prison Industry 'zine) http://www.correctionsone
.com/contraband/articles/6846954-E-cigarettes-that-create-a-safer-corrections-environment/
Junk-free article on the all-in-one designed by a KY corrections officer, known as the "Crossbar Electronic Cigarette," which is now being marketed to incarcertion centers all over the US. Perhaps those will be the only government-owned indoor spaces left in America in which vaping is permitted.
***
(Gainseville FL US local paper) http://www.gainesville
.com/article/20140218/ARTICLES/140219562?Title=City-to-consider-restrictions-on-e-cigarettes
Gainesville considering extending its clean air act to cover vaping, no date for hearing appears to be set.
[ FL is now considering a simple minor sales ban, which is opposed by A/G Bondi-R, on the gorunds that it doesn't ban flavors. ]
***
(Austin MN US local paper) http://www.austindailyherald
.com/2014/02/city-to-look-into-e-cigarette-regulations/
Austin City Council will consider ext. to its clean air act that defines vaping as smoking. Worth noting that this is near the other MN towns of Sleepy Eye, Manketo, N. Manketo and New Ulm that have also either passed or are considering these ordinances. It's also interesting to observe that the same ALA Program Manager (Erin Simmons) is mentioned by name in this story, as well as the story on Sleepy eye just a few days ago in the New Ulm Journal: http://www.nujournal
.com/page/content.detail/id/548527/Sleepy-Eye-OKs-e-cigarette-sales-moratorium.html?nav=5009
It's hard to tell from a distanct, but it appears that either the ALA or Ms. Simmons has decided to lobby city councils in a number of small towns in the area - with 100% success so far, it seems. Articles are both full of junk.
[ Yesterday, a bill was introduced in the MN house to treat vaping as smoking for purposes of MN's Indoor Clean Air Act. ]
(Twin Cities MN US suburban local paper amalgam site) http://www.lillienews
.com/articles/2014/02/18/area-cities-regulate-e-cigarette-sales#.UwUcEc5obfg
Gen'l report on various Twin Cities suburbs that are passing vaping=smoking indoor bans as well as stricter retailer licensing policies for vape stores. Full of junk, cites dir. of Nonsmokers MN. City of Lauderdale will hold hearing on 3/25 to determine if vape shops should be licensed as tobacco retailers, apparently already favored by Council.
***
(Sioux City IA US local paper) http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letter-big-tobacco-dupes-iowa-house/article_2adb0205-fad0-5b96-bfad-30efcb1fd13c.html
Junky letter to the editor slams IA house for passing a simple minor ban, blames passage of the ban on BT. Please respond in the comments section.
***
(Dallas TX US local paper) http://www.dallasnews
.com/news/community-news/frisco/headlines/20140218-frisco-city-council-bans-e-cigarettes-in-public-areas.ece?nclick_check=1
Neighboring city of Frisco extends clean air act ord. to include vaping. Ord requires a 20 ft. clearance from doorways, and appears to include all city property as well as public parks. Some junk in article. I'm not aware of any pending legislatin in TX, if you are - please PM me. http://impactnews
.com/dfw-metro/frisco/frisco-council-bans-e-cigarettes-to-minors,-where-smoking-is/
Is a local web site's blow-by-blow junk-free report of (except for quotes from Council members) the Council meeting, which may provide some insight. More coverage below.
***
(Bismark ND US local paper) http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/mandan-bans-e-cigarettes-for-minors/article_2923d71c-9905-11e3-9a69-0019bb2963f4.html
Mandan ND passes simple minor sales ban.
[ ND already treats vaping as smoking for purposes of its indoor clean air act. ]
***
(U. SD US local paper) http://www.volanteonline
.com/opinion/e-cigarettes-become-popular-due-to-campus-smoking-ban/article_9c31bf40-9904-11e3-a7e0-0017a43b2370.html
Student-written article cites Drexel study, links to CASAA, and argues that USD should permit vaping. Dean of Students responds that USD's smke-free campus (including outside areas) policy includes vaping despite not mentioning it, and an (apparently irreversible) determination has been made by the Board of Regents that vaping is smoking.
***
(SL UT Fox Affiliate) http://fox13now
.com/2014/02/17/e-cigarette-bills-to-be-heard-this-week/
Report on UT HB 112 from last night, contains some junk. Interview w/ Aaron Frazier of UT Vapers as well as Rep. Paul Ray, the bill's sponsor. Bill has passed out of committee, now on the house floor. See posts #38-40 in Legislative forum for bill text under thread "Utah bill (HB 112) by Paul Ray would ban the manufacture and sale of all e-cigs that dont contain pharmaceutical grade nicotine, require license to make/sell."
***
More coverage on Frisco TX's vaping=smoking ord. Most of these contain junk:
http://blogs.dallasobserver
.com/unfairpark/2014/02/frisco_bans_e-cigarettes.php
http://www.khou
.com/news/texas-news/North-Texas-town-passes-strict-ordinance-to-regulate-e-cigarettes-246147531.html
http://www.nbcdfw
.com/news/health/Frisco-Passes-E-Cigarette-Restrictions-239129931.html
1) Updated CASAA calls on MD for "smokeless" tobacco tax (not yet applied to vaping) and RI's proposed tax and virtual online sales ban - hearing date change to 3/6.
2) UT HB 112 (online sales ban among other things) out of committee, now on House floor.
3) OK SB 1892 out of committee - exempts vapor products from tobacco tax. See "Lots of e-cig bills introduced in Oklahoma, hearing held" thread in legis. forum. Also Gary Cox InfoZone article is linked-to there, in post #26 (as well as the AP story which is getting picked up in a lot of places).
4) KY HB 309 which appeared initially to be a simple minor sales ban may morph into a tax bill - now out of committee and on to the house floor. See "Kentucky bill (HB 267) would ban e-cig sales to minors, but require reporting of e-cig sales to retailers" thread in Legislation, post #6.
5) Gainesville FL to consider extending clean air act (vaping = smoking).
6) New paper coming out indicating that vaping is at least as effective as the patch for cessation.
7) Altria (formerly Phillip Morris Int'l) to take Big Ten all-in-ones nationally, w/ ad campaign.
8) More dirt on GlaxoSmithKline's e-mail to the Health and Consumer Affirs div. of the EU. Glaxo says that a "two-tier nicotine system" in Europe would "seriously disadvantage proven nicotine replacement therapy products." (Surprise.)
9) Frisco, TX passes vaping=smoking indoor clean air act ord.
10) Glantz updates blog to remove his accusation to the effect that the vaping industry has orchestrated a campaign of support within "right wing think tanks."
Coverage: EU, US States: FL, MN, IA, TX, ND, SD, UT
Coverage in Legis Forum as described above: OK, KY
***
Tip: to see whether there are bad things happening where you live, try this Google search (example for Rhode Island) -
rhode site:casaa.org
(Replace rhode with a single word that describes your city, county, or state. For ex., if you live in Eau Claire, WI - you might use "Claire" to see if something is being proposed at the city level. Don't forget the : (colon), and be sure that there's nothing before or after the colon (not even spaces or tabs.)
You can also try replacing site:casaa.org with e-cigarette to find out what the media is reporting in your area. This is usually most helpful if you use the search tools to search by date. (CASAA doesn't generally issue calls or alerts until a bill is out of a state legislative committee, or is scheduled for a local city or county hearing.)
***
(CASAA Call on MD - updted for new bill) CASAA: Call to Action: Maryland Wants to Raise the Tax on Smokeless Tobacco from 30% to 95%
Raises tax on"smokeless" tobacco to 95% of wholesale, which CASAA expects to see applied to vaping in the future. HB 443 (ditto) has a hearing on Thurs (tomorrow) at 1p in Ways and Means; SB 589 hearing on Weds (next week) at 1p in Budget and Tax. Also see the other CASAA call on a vaping=smoking ext. to the Clean Air Act: CASAA: Call to Action: Maryland E-Cigarette Usage Ban - HB 1291 hearing on Weds 3/5 at 1p in House Office Bldg.
(CASAA Call on RI - updted for new hearing date) CASAA: Call to Action! Rhode Island Bills Impose 80% Tax on E-Cigarettes and Unreasonable Requirements for Online Sales
H7021 and H7133 would impose 80% wholesale tax on vaping and create unreasonable barriars to online sales. Hearing 4p in rm. 35 of State House on 3/6.
(Dr. Siegal's blog, re: Letter by Harkin, Waxman & Welch to state A/Gs) http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/02/trampling-on-constitution-democratic.html
Siegal argues that enforcement of the MSA taxes would violate the constitution by applying the MSA to parties who weren't part of the agreement.
(CASAA VP C.V. Phillips on demonization of smokers) Demonization of tobacco users (or, just because it is a puff piece does not mean I cannot analyze it) | Anti-THR Lies and related topics
(ECF's own InfoZone) Search Engines and the E-Cig - ECF InfoZone
Gary Cox discusses how search engine algo.s affect public awareness of vaping.
(Glantz's blog) http://www.tobacco
.ucsf.edu/blogs/sglantz
Noteworthy because the post accusing vapers of orchestrating a campaign of support from "right wing think tanks has been removed. This is what Dr. Siegal had to say about that yesterday: http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/02/anti-tobacco-researcher-accuses.html
***
(US Nat'l Bus - re: EU/Glaxo E-mail) Glaxo Memo Shows Drug Industry Lobbying on E-Cigarettes - Businessweek
general junk-free article, for more dirt see: http://velvetgloveironfist.blogspot
.com/2014/02/big-pharma-and-little-e-cigarettes.html
***
(US Nat'l Inst.s of Health official site) http://www.ncbi
.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24530995?dopt=Abstract
Abstract of a paper to be published entitled Electronic cigarettes are at least as effective as nicotine patches for smoking cessation. No other info. seems to be available. However I believe the second author is one of the EU scientests who signed the pro-vaping letter to the EU, and has published a paper called If wisely regulated, electronic cigarettes can make cigarettes obsolete. which I can't seem to find a link for.
(Associated Press - US Nat'l) http://www.sltrib
.com/sltrib/money/57567635-79/cigarette-electronic-company-altria.html.csp
PMI (Altria (formerly Phillip Morris Int'l) will be expanding its Big Ten brand nationally, along with an ad campaign. No junk. There are scores of reprints today. I haven't collected them.
(US Air Force Official News site) http://www.af
.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/473363/electronic-cigarette-use-increasing-among-airmen.aspx
Junky article warns of increased use by AF personel, contains minor junk as well. The USAF has banned vaping on its bases by extending its Tobacco Use policy, I believe it's the only service to have done so.
(US Nat'l political 'zine) http://dailycaller
.com/2014/02/19/e-cigarette-bans-and-propaganda-are-driven-by-cronyism-not-public-health/
Pro-vaping article by physician contains no junk.
(US Online Prison Industry 'zine) http://www.correctionsone
.com/contraband/articles/6846954-E-cigarettes-that-create-a-safer-corrections-environment/
Junk-free article on the all-in-one designed by a KY corrections officer, known as the "Crossbar Electronic Cigarette," which is now being marketed to incarcertion centers all over the US. Perhaps those will be the only government-owned indoor spaces left in America in which vaping is permitted.
***
(Gainseville FL US local paper) http://www.gainesville
.com/article/20140218/ARTICLES/140219562?Title=City-to-consider-restrictions-on-e-cigarettes
Gainesville considering extending its clean air act to cover vaping, no date for hearing appears to be set.
[ FL is now considering a simple minor sales ban, which is opposed by A/G Bondi-R, on the gorunds that it doesn't ban flavors. ]
***
(Austin MN US local paper) http://www.austindailyherald
.com/2014/02/city-to-look-into-e-cigarette-regulations/
Austin City Council will consider ext. to its clean air act that defines vaping as smoking. Worth noting that this is near the other MN towns of Sleepy Eye, Manketo, N. Manketo and New Ulm that have also either passed or are considering these ordinances. It's also interesting to observe that the same ALA Program Manager (Erin Simmons) is mentioned by name in this story, as well as the story on Sleepy eye just a few days ago in the New Ulm Journal: http://www.nujournal
.com/page/content.detail/id/548527/Sleepy-Eye-OKs-e-cigarette-sales-moratorium.html?nav=5009
It's hard to tell from a distanct, but it appears that either the ALA or Ms. Simmons has decided to lobby city councils in a number of small towns in the area - with 100% success so far, it seems. Articles are both full of junk.
[ Yesterday, a bill was introduced in the MN house to treat vaping as smoking for purposes of MN's Indoor Clean Air Act. ]
(Twin Cities MN US suburban local paper amalgam site) http://www.lillienews
.com/articles/2014/02/18/area-cities-regulate-e-cigarette-sales#.UwUcEc5obfg
Gen'l report on various Twin Cities suburbs that are passing vaping=smoking indoor bans as well as stricter retailer licensing policies for vape stores. Full of junk, cites dir. of Nonsmokers MN. City of Lauderdale will hold hearing on 3/25 to determine if vape shops should be licensed as tobacco retailers, apparently already favored by Council.
***
(Sioux City IA US local paper) http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letter-big-tobacco-dupes-iowa-house/article_2adb0205-fad0-5b96-bfad-30efcb1fd13c.html
Junky letter to the editor slams IA house for passing a simple minor ban, blames passage of the ban on BT. Please respond in the comments section.
***
(Dallas TX US local paper) http://www.dallasnews
.com/news/community-news/frisco/headlines/20140218-frisco-city-council-bans-e-cigarettes-in-public-areas.ece?nclick_check=1
Neighboring city of Frisco extends clean air act ord. to include vaping. Ord requires a 20 ft. clearance from doorways, and appears to include all city property as well as public parks. Some junk in article. I'm not aware of any pending legislatin in TX, if you are - please PM me. http://impactnews
.com/dfw-metro/frisco/frisco-council-bans-e-cigarettes-to-minors,-where-smoking-is/
Is a local web site's blow-by-blow junk-free report of (except for quotes from Council members) the Council meeting, which may provide some insight. More coverage below.
***
(Bismark ND US local paper) http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/mandan-bans-e-cigarettes-for-minors/article_2923d71c-9905-11e3-9a69-0019bb2963f4.html
Mandan ND passes simple minor sales ban.
[ ND already treats vaping as smoking for purposes of its indoor clean air act. ]
***
(U. SD US local paper) http://www.volanteonline
.com/opinion/e-cigarettes-become-popular-due-to-campus-smoking-ban/article_9c31bf40-9904-11e3-a7e0-0017a43b2370.html
Student-written article cites Drexel study, links to CASAA, and argues that USD should permit vaping. Dean of Students responds that USD's smke-free campus (including outside areas) policy includes vaping despite not mentioning it, and an (apparently irreversible) determination has been made by the Board of Regents that vaping is smoking.
***
(SL UT Fox Affiliate) http://fox13now
.com/2014/02/17/e-cigarette-bills-to-be-heard-this-week/
Report on UT HB 112 from last night, contains some junk. Interview w/ Aaron Frazier of UT Vapers as well as Rep. Paul Ray, the bill's sponsor. Bill has passed out of committee, now on the house floor. See posts #38-40 in Legislative forum for bill text under thread "Utah bill (HB 112) by Paul Ray would ban the manufacture and sale of all e-cigs that dont contain pharmaceutical grade nicotine, require license to make/sell."
***
More coverage on Frisco TX's vaping=smoking ord. Most of these contain junk:
http://blogs.dallasobserver
.com/unfairpark/2014/02/frisco_bans_e-cigarettes.php
http://www.khou
.com/news/texas-news/North-Texas-town-passes-strict-ordinance-to-regulate-e-cigarettes-246147531.html
http://www.nbcdfw
.com/news/health/Frisco-Passes-E-Cigarette-Restrictions-239129931.html
