[ Just paste broken links shown in purple directly into your browser - the extra line doesn't matter. Pls. PM me if you have more recent info. about proposed/actual legislation, if you think I've missed an important story, or if you want more tweaks to the formatting program. ]
1) The uproar over Sen. Schumer's yesterday afternoon press release continues to dominate the media. See the collection at the end. Sen. Schumer's press release is a major factor in the new ANTZ message - vaping is marketed by BT to children, who are "seven times more likely" to become regular tobacco smokers.
2) KY is no longer under threat from a vaping = smoking indoor clean air act, although other legislation involving taxes remains.
3) Weds: public hearings on NJ Gov. Christie's proposal to tax vaping at an equivalent rate to cigarettes ($2.70/pack).
4) Nicolite ad campaign blocked: UK's advertising standards agency says that the "kick ...." slogan linked to a football club amounts to an illegal cessation claim.
5) Dublin (NIR) bans vaping on busses and trains.
Coverage: UK (national + Dublin); Ca (ON); US States: NY, CT, NJ, OH, KY, IL, WI, OK, TX, UT, WA, CA
Also: Dr. Siegel analyzes UCSF press release regarding Thurs study, says co-authors Dutra & Glantz are "lying"; rally in Olympia WA to protest impending vaping taxes; UT Dep't of Health official actually replies to an upset vaper's FB comment on a SLC Trib story; and yes, there's still one major university in the US left which hasn't yet banned outdoor vaping on campus grounds;
***
BLOGS, STUDIES, ETC.
Title: Glantz Press Release is Dishonest with Public; Authors Appear to be Intentionally Lying to Mislead the Media and the Public
(Dr. Siegel's blog) http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/03/glantz-press-release-is-dishonest-with.html
A comparison of quotes from the UCSF press release concerning Thursday's JAMA paper by Dutra & Glantz clearly shows that their claims about the results are entirely at odds with the caveats in the paper itself. (This is the source of the "Seven times more likely" claim that Schumer used in yesterday's press release.)
***
UK NATIONAL
Title: ASA Bans E-cigarette Ad Associated with Birmingham City
(Nat'l football 'zine) http://www.footballfancast
.com/football-news/asa-bans-advert-associated-with-birmingham-city
Advertising Standards Agency bars Nicolite from using its "kick ...." slogan in an ad campaign associated with the Birmingham City Football Club, on the grounds that it's deceptive advertising because it implies that vaping can be used as a cessation tool. No junk.
---
UK N. Ire.
Title: E-cigs banned from DART and trains
(Dublin NIR UK local paper) http://www.dublinpeople
.com/article.php?id=3380&l=100
Brief junk-free report indicates that vaping was banned due to passenger complaints, and is being effectively regulated as a nuisance rather than a public health issue.
---
CANADA: ONTARIO
Title: Kill patio smoking, Public Health advises
(Guelph ON Ca local paper) http://www.guelphmercury
.com/news-story/4405004-kill-patio-smoking-public-health-advises/
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health recommends a ban on outdoor tobacco smoking on all municipal property owned by the city of Guelph. ON's clean air act doesn't address most outdoor smoking, but municpalities are free to enact more restrictive policies. No references to vaping or "e-cigarettes" occur in this piece, although your correspondent has to wonder whether the final ord. won't include it. As far as I can tell, ON doesn't presently regulate vaping, nor do any of its cities. PM me if you know differently.
***
US NATIONAL
Title: Young E-Cigarette Users Less Likely To Quit Smoking
(The Onion) http://www.theonion
.com/articles/young-ecigarette-users-less-likely-to-quit-smoking,35476/
Too bad they didn't do more with the theme.
Title: With millions in sales, Arlington e-cigarette store says business is brisk - but will it last?
(US Nat'l Paper) http://www.washingtonpost
.com/business/capitalbusiness/with-millions-in-sales-arlington-e-cigarette-store-says-business-is-brisk--but-will-it-last/2014/03/07/e2a56d56-a2fe-11e3-84d4-e59b1709222c_story.html
If you know anything about recent events in the vaping world, the title of this story basically says it all. With regulators champing at the bit to impose massive taxes, ban all flavors except tobacco, and with an eye to ensuring that only one kind of "e-cigarette" can be sold - i.e. an non-refillable cigAlike - retailers everywhere are asking whether they can survive when a product that has all the variability of a fine restaurant's menu offerings is reduced to the moral equivalent of pre-packaged vending machine sandwiches. As the piece emphasizes, vaping vendors everywhere not only have the same regulatory challenges, but the same customers: adults who want to quit smoking tobacco cigaretees. Most vape shops don't even allow anyone under 18 years old in the door - even if its legal to do so. No junk in this article.
Title: E-Cigarettes: Second-Hand Smoke, Vaping, and the Price of FDA Regulations
(US nat'l magazine) http://reason
.com/blog/2014/03/09/reason-tv-replaye-cigarettes-second-hand
Pro-vaping video explains why the "precautionary principle" is being misused to justify skepticism about the alleged "unknowns" associated with vaping's effect on bystandards ("second hand vapor") as well as vapers. Features interview with Greg Conley (of CASAA) and NJOY Pres. Craig Weiss. What I like about it, is that it's done in the exact same style as the dreadful hit jobs that one sees on the maintream media. Sadly, this effectively-produced video has little likelihood of being broadcast in any large-scale venue, and that's not because "preventatively" (1:49) lacks a dictionary entry.
---
NEW YORK
Title: E-cigarettes: fresh air or smoke and mirrors?
(AP - re: NYC) http://www.ctpost
.com/news/us/article/E-cigarettes-fresh-air-or-smoke-and-mirrors-5303321.php#page-1 http://www.newshour24
.com/business/1ze3b2hrah/Ecigarettes-Fresh-Air-Or-Smoke-Mirrors.htm
When I read the title of this story, I expected another "hidden dangers of e-cigarettes" piece - until I saw the AP byline. To my utter astonishment, there isn't one single paragraph in this story which quotes a rep. from any of the standards ANTZ orgs, or even a local MD. The closest it comes is to quoting CT Sen. Blumenthal who points out that "it's still smoking" (regardless, I suppose, of what's in the juice). In fact the first half of the article focuses on the cost of vaping, which doesn't necessarily compare all that favorably to smoking tobacco cigarettes (according to the author). The rest of the piece focuses on two vape shop owners' journey into vaping. A very refreshing break from all the usual garbage in the media.
[ NY has a vaping=smoking bill indoor ban now in the legislature. See: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ng-e-cigs-contain-tobacco-all-workplaces.html also tax bill: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-tax-e-cig-cartridges-75-wholesale-price.html ]
---
US: CONNECTICUT
Title: State leaders push for e-cigarette regulations in Congress
(Norwalk CT US News 12 affiliate) http://connecticut.news12
.com/news/state-leaders-push-for-e-cigarette-regulations-in-congress-1.7333765
Video report on push by CT Sen. Blumenthal and cong'l delegation to support "regulations" in general. Presumably they're referring to the Protecting Children From Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act (PCECAA), but some of what they're discussing goes beyond PCECAA. The underlying premises behind the story - both as regards reporter's monologue as well what the politicians say - are: (1) e-cigarettes are marketed to children; and (2) children are starting to smoke tobacco cigarettes as a result of e-cigarettes.
[ HB 5286 - burdensome labelling requirements whose purposes is to "destroy the e-cig industry" (Bill Godshall): http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...contents-nicotine-yield-hearing-feb-28-a.html ]
---
US: NEW JERSEY
Title: Chris Christie plans new tax rate for e-cigarettes with 2015 budget
(Ind. Philadelpha PA US web site) http://www.philly
.com/philly/blogs/lifestyle/Chris-Christie-plans-new-tax-rate-for-e-cigarettes-with-2015-budget.html#Z3VY0XhW1rydW3cf.99
Junk-free article notes that public hearings on Gov. Christie's proposed tax to begin on Weds 3/12, and that the tax will likely be $2.70 per 1.5ml, i.e. about $54 for a 30ml. bottle of e-liquid.
[ NJ's house bill A1080 was originally proposed as a ban on tobacco smoking in parks and beaches, but was immediately ammended to include vaping as soon as it got on to the house floor. See: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ng-all-public-parks-beaches.html#post12349761 ]
---
US: OHIO
Title: Law banning 'e-cigarette' sales to children is a "Trojan Horse:" Shelly Kiser, American Lung Associaton of Ohio
(Cleveland OH US local paper) http://www.cleveland
.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/03/law_banning_e-cigarette_saleas.html
ALA argues that classifying vaping products as "alternative nicotine products" (instead of tobacco products) would: "lead to policies that allow products falling under this category to be exempted from the science-based polices that we know are the most-effective in getting kids to never use or to stop, like smokefree polices and pricing policies, like taxes. In other words, the problem with a simple minor sales ban is that it's a simple minor sales ban - and doesn't extend the clean air act to prohibit vaping in public parks, or tax vaping to the same extent as tobacco cigarettes. The junk in the editorial is critical, because the reader is invited to assume that vaping is just another form of smoking tobacco cigarettes (and of course the recent junk JAMA study is cited to imply that kids who vape end up as smokers). This logically leads to the writer's conclusion - why should one type of cigarette be treated any differently than another, since we should presume the two types to be identical in every way except the label? Oops, the assumption isn't proven, except by smearing vaping with all the known research about tobacco smoking. It's guilt-by-association, not public policy based on science.
[ OH's simple minor sales ban was signed by Gov. Kasich last week. OH is not under threat from any additional legislation. (PM me if you know differently. ]
Title: Law banning 'e-cigarette' sales to children makes sense: Ohio Rep. Stephanie Kunze
(Cleveland OH US local paper) http://www.cleveland
.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/03/law_banning_sale_of_e-cigarett.html
St. Rep. writes that the simple minor ban makes sense, and protects teens. This is a much simpler argument to make than the nuanced (and misleading) claim that tobacco cigarettes have a long and dreadful history, therefore we must declare vaping to be tobacco smoking. No junk. This opinion and the one listed above were apparently run side-by-side yesterday in the same paper (Cleveland Plain Dealer).
---
US: KENTUCKY
Title: Bill to ban [indoor/outdoor] smoking [and vaping] in Kentucky dead, sponsor says
(Louisville KY US local paper) http://www.courier-journal
.com/article/20140306/NEWS0101/303060111/Bill-ban-smoking-Kentucky-dead-sponsor-says?nclick_check=1
KY bill that would've banned indoor vaping is dead. Junk-free.
[ KY has a Vaping=smoking bill indoor clean air act ext. proposed, as well as both a 40% and 20% tax proposal, see CASAA call: CASAA: Call to Action! Kentucky Bills to Ban E-Cigarette Usage & Impose Excessive Tax Also some minor ban bills - esp. HB 309 which may morph into a tax, and SB 267 which establishes burdensome reporting requirements: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-require-reporting-e-cig-sales-retailers.html ]
---
US: ILLINOIS
Title: DeKalb council to consider e-cigarettes, teen nightclubs
(DeKalb, IL US local paper) http://www.daily-chronicle
.com/2014/03/09/dekalb-council-to-consider-e-cigarettes-teen-nightclubs/aib8wus/
DeKalb city council wants to place any store which has more than 20% of its sales due to vaping under the tobacco retailing ordinance. City Atty apparently buys into the idea that vaping is marketed to children. (The "teen nightclubs" aspect of this story is completely unrelated.)
[ IL currently considering two bills that require vaping supplies (but not non-cigarette tobacco) to be behind the counter, see: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...counter-exempts-tobacco-specialty-stores.html and one bill that would require special packaging: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-e-cig-products-sold-il-protect-children.html Also worth watching: SB2659, which would ban smoking in cars containing a minor - however the definition doesn't currently include vaping (and is still in the Public Health Cmte, with a status of "postponed." See: Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SB2659 ]
---
US: WISCONSIN
Title: E-cigarettes may be exempt from smoking ban
(U Wis. Student paper) http://badgerherald.com/news/2014/03/10/e-cigs-exempt-smoking-ban-nm/#
.Ux3Ywc5obfg
Plenty of space given to AHA and ALA rep.s in this piece, who naturally tout the lack of regulation, Chinese sourcing, and "fears" about children. However (amazingly) a number of other possible junky allegation aren't proffered, nor is there any effort to smear vapers with BT. Sponsor of the CASAA-proposed bill which would explicitly exempt vaping from the state's indoor clean air act (which would be the first of its kind anywhere in the world) says: "I dont know about any action this year, but Id be surprised if it doesnt pass next year." WI: SB 440 and AB 762 - both explicitly exempt vaping from the state indoor clean air act.
[ WI has two bills that would explicitly exempt from the state Indoor Clean Air Act, which CASAA strongly supports: CASAA: Call to Action! UPDATED: SUPPORT Wisconsin SB 440 and AB 762 EXEMPTING E-cigarettes from public use bans! Also see report by Kirstin: http://wivapers.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-two-days-in-wisconsins-capitol.html and: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...6240-wisconsin-updates-wisconsin-updates.html ]
---
US: OKLAHOMA
Title: E-cigarettes gain fans, critics as vaping' spreads
(Tuscaloosa OK US local paper) http://www.tuscaloosanews
.com/article/20140309/NEWS/140309624/1291/APN?p=3&tc=pg
[Syndication of a somewhat original story from SC covered yesterday, as follows ...] "Balanced" (relative to the usual standards), and generally well-researched. Local gov't equivalent rep. of Tobacco Control (Spartanburg Alcohol & Drug Abuse Commission) makes some fairly mild comments, but a respiratory therapist and certified smoking cessation counselor with the Greenville Health System indicates that "Ten years from now, we are going to see people using these products coming in for different diseases, some of which we may not have even seen." and that "liquid inside e-cigarettes contains toxic materials linked to blood clots, migraines, or even brain damage." (Is he talking about PG or just nic.?) Contains CDC minor junk and so forth.
[ SB 1892 is a mixed bag for proponents of smoke-free alternatives, because it raises the tax on Snus and other smokeless products, but exempts vaping. See: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...g-bills-introduced-oklahoma-hearing-held.html
and: Oklahoma -- OK! - ECF InfoZone ]
---
US: TEXAS
Title: New Smoking Policy at WT [West TX A&M]
(Amarillo TX US Fox Affiliate) http://www.myhighplains
.com/story/d/story/new-smoking-policy-at-wt/11707/7h69J3Uo0UmGVkqy3dBAhA
West TX A&M U adds vaping to its non-smoking policy. Nothing remarkable about that, but what's amazing is that smoking is still permitted on campus grounds, as long as it's 50 feet from a doorway. When asked about the addition of vaping, the Student Center Dir. helpfully responded that although there don't seem to have been much in the way of complaints, and no apparently healtb issues exist, "It was just something that was gaining in popularity and something that needed to be adressed by the university." Ah, I see. If it's popular, it needs to be banned.
[ TX's legislature is out of session for the year, unless Gov. Perry calls for a special session. ]
---
US: UTAH
Title: Good Question: Are E-Cigarette Commercials Legal?
(SLC UT US CBS affiliate) http://www.kutv
.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_10039.shtml
Contains this piece of junk, among others: ""The e-cigarette guys firmly believe that their product is different than a cigarette but ultimately, the end result is the same. The user is still addicted and through that addiction, the person who sells the e-cigarettes rakes in a pretty hansom [sic] profit." When I scrolled down to the comments section, I found a remarkable interchange between a miffed vaper and Adam Bramwell - Marketing Manager at Utah Department of Health (or at least that's how the poster's FB account is identified). If you live in UT or are just generally curious, I suggest you take a look. I've begun to wonder whether anyone reads those comments sections, since they're nearly always full of feedback from vapers who are fed up with biased media coverage. And yes: ads for vaping are still legal. For now.
[ Although UT is still planning to raise the age for both smoking and vaping to 21 (as a number of other states have, no other legislation appears to be pending. ]
---
US: WASHINGTON (STATE)
Title: Dozens rally in protest of e-cigarette tax
(Seattle WA US sinclair affiliate) http://www.komonews
.com/news/local/Dozens-protest-poised-e-cigarette-tax-249198841.html
Brief junk-free story on protests in Olympia (WA's capital). Ditto: http://www.seattlepi
.com/local/komo/article/Dozens-rally-in-protest-of-e-cigarette-tax-5301944.php
[ Washington's HB 2795 has been incorporated into the budget, will impose a 95% tax. See: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-cigs-95-referred-senate-ways-means-cmte.html and
CASAA: Call to Action! Washington Bill to Impose Excessive 95% Tax on E-Cigarettes text of 2795:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2013-14/Pdf/Bills/House Bills/2795.pdf ]
---
US: CALIFORNIA
Title: Seal Beach council may restrict e-cigarette, smoke shops
(Orange Co. CA US local paper) http://www.ocregister
.com/articles/council-604860-city-grease.html
Most of this report is behind a pay wall, but I've been seeing many references to Seal Beach's desire to regulate (translate: minimize) vape shops. This proposed ordinance would allgedly only require them to be in "commercial zones," although readers should be aware that "commercial" is a term of art that sometimes has different meanings in different places. Council meets 7pm tonight to consider. It's hard not to believe that the goal here is simply to ban vape shops under the guise of an ordinance that appears to be neutral.
Title: E-cigarettes face restrictions as cities update smoking ordinances
(Sacramento CA US local paper) http://www.sacbee
.com/2014/03/10/6221686/e-cigarettes-face-restrictions.html#storylink=cpy
SacBee readers won't be surprised at anything in this piece. Only one pro-vaping sentence was permitted in the final draft - a comment by a vape store owner who says that 2/3 of what he sells is nic-free liquid. Liberal amounts of space are provided to the concerns and fears of the ALA and other related organizations. If you didn't know anything about vaping, you'd come away with one conclusion: all "cigarettes" are "socially unacceptable" (according to the head of the local Chamber of Commerce), and it's a good thing that politicians recognize that the public must be protected from the "smoke" from this new - but perhaps even more dangerous - type of cigarette which is designed to appeal to children. The only thing you'd wonder is why cities haven't already banned cigarettes from China with "metal pieces" in them.
[ CA is under threat from a wide variety of legislation, such as an internet sales ban: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-shipment-e-cigarettes-anyone-california.html ]
***
COLLECTION: SCHUMER'S PRESS RELEASE
Yesterday afternoon, US NY Sen. Chuck Schumer issued a press release that combined three points, and lead to the widely-repeated headline: Teens [who vape] seven times more likely to become [tobacco] smokers The three issues that were brought together in the press release were:
1) Dutra & Glantz's "minor gateway" paper which was released in JAMA pediatrics on Thursday of last week. Although there are parts of the paper in which the authors acknowledge that correlations are not causative, there are other statements they've made in the press release, media interviews, and in the paper itself which do imply that vaping "causes more smoking, not less" (among minors).
2) A story in Weds' NYT that listed claims to the effect that the 2011-2012 CDC study of school-aged children and smoking may have undercounted vaping teens, because some of the products are sold under different names, e.g. "vape pens" or "e-hookahs." I've listed a link to that in the background area.
3) The Feb 26th introduction of the Protecting Children From Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act of 2014 (PCECAA) by a group of national US legislators (among which Schumer is a co-sponsor).
What's still not clear about the press release is whether Schumer is simply ginning up support for the existing version of the PCECAA, or whether he'll be proposing changes, or whether he's laying the groundwork for new legislation.
What is evident is that the media has accepted that vaping is being marketed to teens, and that BT is successfully conerting young vapers into tobacco smokers.
---
SCHUMER'S PRESS RELEASE - BACKGROUND
Title: E-Cigarettes, Under Aliases, Elude the Authorities
(US Nat'l Paper) http://www.nytimes
.com/2014/03/05/business/e-cigarettes-under-aliases-elude-the-authorities.html?_r=0
For background, here's the article on "vape pens" and "e-hookahs" that Schumer is talking about in his press release.
Title: Conclusion of New Glantz Study on Electronic Cigarettes is Junk Science
(Dr. Siegel's blog) http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/03/conclusion-of-new-glantz-study-on.html
For background, here's the analysis of the JAMA paper released on Thursday, in which Tobacco Control researchers Dutra and Glantz argue that vaping is a gateway behavior for minors which leads to tobacco smoking.
Title: Glantz Press Release is Dishonest with Public; Authors Appear to be Intentionally Lying to Mislead the Media and the Public
(Dr. Siegel's blog) http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot
.com/2014/03/glantz-press-release-is-dishonest-with.html
---
SCHUMER'S PRESS RELEASE - STORIES
Title: Schumer Looks To Snuff Out E-Cigarette Marketing To Kids
(NYC CBS affiliate) http://newyork.cbslocal
.com/2014/03/09/schumer-looks-to-snuff-out-e-cigarette-marketing-to-kids/ http://www.healthrender
.com/trend/Schumer-Looks-To-Snuff-Out-E-Cigarette-Marketing-To-Kids
Title: New legislation could ban e-cigarettes from targeting children
(Rochester NY US ABC affiliate) http://www.13wham
.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/new-legislation-could-ban-ecigarettes-targeting-children-10138.shtml
Title: Schumer Looks to Ban E-Cigarette Companies From Marketing to Children
(Rochester NY US NextStar affiliate) http://www.rochesterhomepage
.net/story/d/story/schumer-looks-to-ban-e-cigarette-companies-from-ma/26165/V9mOR3vP8ECRixP41GWnKg
Title: Sen. Schumer: E-cigarette companies targeting children in advertising
(Rochester NY US NBC affiliate) http://www.whec
.com/news/stories/S3355196.shtml?cat=565
Title: Schumer: Prohibit e-cigarette marketing to kids
(L.I. NY local paper) http://www.newsday
.com/news/health/schumer-prohibit-e-cigarette-marketing-to-kids-1.7335224
Title: Worried that tobacco companies are marketing to children with flavored e-cigarettes, Sen. Chuck Schumer vowed to push legislation that would close loopholes in advertising laws.
(NYC local paper) http://www.nydailynews
.com/news/politics/chuck-schumer-e-cigarette-marketing-kids-article-1.1716091
This particularly onerous paragraph indicate just how effective last week's JAMA paper was, in terms of hypnotizing the media: "Schumer cited a study published last week in JAMA Pediatrics, which found that adolescents who smoke e-cigarettes are seven times more likely to smoke traditional cigarettes."
Title: Schumer Pushes Bill to Ban E-Cigarette Companies from Marketing to Children
(NYC CNN affiliate) http://www.ny1
.com/content/news/204954/schumer-pushes-bill-to-ban-e-cigarette-companies-from-marketing-to-children
Title: Schumer wants to ban e-cigarette marketing to children
(Staten Is. NYC local paper) http://www.komonews
.com/news/local/Dozens-protest-poised-e-cigarette-tax-249198841.html
Title: Schumer targets e-cigarette marketing
(Burlington VT ind? TV) http://www.wcax
.com/story/24927169/schumer-targets-e-cigarette-marketing
Title: Schumer bill to stop e-cig companies from marketing to kids
(NYC local paper) http://www.amny
.com/news/schumer-bill-to-stop-e-cig-companies-from-marketing-to-kids-1.7334482
Title: NY Senator: E-Cigarette Companies Must Stop Targeting Children
(Sacramento CA US clear channel affiliate) http://www.kfbk
.com/articles/kfbk-news-461777/ny-senator-ecigarette-companies-must-stop-12137534/#ixzz2vZswrYxP (Lauranceburg IN ind. radio station) http://eaglecountryonline
.com/feed-article/senator-schumer-says-e-cigarette-companies-must-stop-targeting-children/
Title: Planned regulations on e-cigarettes are overdue
(Norwalk CT local paper) http://www.thehour
.com/opinion/editorials/planned-regulations-on-e-cigarettes-are-overdue/article_8a0ae57d-6f20-5b8f-b2ca-8ad7f1f239f0.html
Title: Senator Schumer Pushing for Bill to Prohibit E-Cigarette Marketing among Kids
(Ind. UK-based news amalgam site) http://www.onenewspage
.com/n/Middle+East/750cn4wjx/Senator-Schumer-Pushing-for-Bill-to-Prohibit.htm
***
Google Tips
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.)
1) The uproar over Sen. Schumer's yesterday afternoon press release continues to dominate the media. See the collection at the end. Sen. Schumer's press release is a major factor in the new ANTZ message - vaping is marketed by BT to children, who are "seven times more likely" to become regular tobacco smokers.
2) KY is no longer under threat from a vaping = smoking indoor clean air act, although other legislation involving taxes remains.
3) Weds: public hearings on NJ Gov. Christie's proposal to tax vaping at an equivalent rate to cigarettes ($2.70/pack).
4) Nicolite ad campaign blocked: UK's advertising standards agency says that the "kick ...." slogan linked to a football club amounts to an illegal cessation claim.
5) Dublin (NIR) bans vaping on busses and trains.
Coverage: UK (national + Dublin); Ca (ON); US States: NY, CT, NJ, OH, KY, IL, WI, OK, TX, UT, WA, CA
Also: Dr. Siegel analyzes UCSF press release regarding Thurs study, says co-authors Dutra & Glantz are "lying"; rally in Olympia WA to protest impending vaping taxes; UT Dep't of Health official actually replies to an upset vaper's FB comment on a SLC Trib story; and yes, there's still one major university in the US left which hasn't yet banned outdoor vaping on campus grounds;
***
BLOGS, STUDIES, ETC.
Title: Glantz Press Release is Dishonest with Public; Authors Appear to be Intentionally Lying to Mislead the Media and the Public
(Dr. Siegel's blog) http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/03/glantz-press-release-is-dishonest-with.html
A comparison of quotes from the UCSF press release concerning Thursday's JAMA paper by Dutra & Glantz clearly shows that their claims about the results are entirely at odds with the caveats in the paper itself. (This is the source of the "Seven times more likely" claim that Schumer used in yesterday's press release.)
***
UK NATIONAL
Title: ASA Bans E-cigarette Ad Associated with Birmingham City
(Nat'l football 'zine) http://www.footballfancast
.com/football-news/asa-bans-advert-associated-with-birmingham-city
Advertising Standards Agency bars Nicolite from using its "kick ...." slogan in an ad campaign associated with the Birmingham City Football Club, on the grounds that it's deceptive advertising because it implies that vaping can be used as a cessation tool. No junk.
---
UK N. Ire.
Title: E-cigs banned from DART and trains
(Dublin NIR UK local paper) http://www.dublinpeople
.com/article.php?id=3380&l=100
Brief junk-free report indicates that vaping was banned due to passenger complaints, and is being effectively regulated as a nuisance rather than a public health issue.
---
CANADA: ONTARIO
Title: Kill patio smoking, Public Health advises
(Guelph ON Ca local paper) http://www.guelphmercury
.com/news-story/4405004-kill-patio-smoking-public-health-advises/
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health recommends a ban on outdoor tobacco smoking on all municipal property owned by the city of Guelph. ON's clean air act doesn't address most outdoor smoking, but municpalities are free to enact more restrictive policies. No references to vaping or "e-cigarettes" occur in this piece, although your correspondent has to wonder whether the final ord. won't include it. As far as I can tell, ON doesn't presently regulate vaping, nor do any of its cities. PM me if you know differently.
***
US NATIONAL
Title: Young E-Cigarette Users Less Likely To Quit Smoking
(The Onion) http://www.theonion
.com/articles/young-ecigarette-users-less-likely-to-quit-smoking,35476/
Too bad they didn't do more with the theme.
Title: With millions in sales, Arlington e-cigarette store says business is brisk - but will it last?
(US Nat'l Paper) http://www.washingtonpost
.com/business/capitalbusiness/with-millions-in-sales-arlington-e-cigarette-store-says-business-is-brisk--but-will-it-last/2014/03/07/e2a56d56-a2fe-11e3-84d4-e59b1709222c_story.html
If you know anything about recent events in the vaping world, the title of this story basically says it all. With regulators champing at the bit to impose massive taxes, ban all flavors except tobacco, and with an eye to ensuring that only one kind of "e-cigarette" can be sold - i.e. an non-refillable cigAlike - retailers everywhere are asking whether they can survive when a product that has all the variability of a fine restaurant's menu offerings is reduced to the moral equivalent of pre-packaged vending machine sandwiches. As the piece emphasizes, vaping vendors everywhere not only have the same regulatory challenges, but the same customers: adults who want to quit smoking tobacco cigaretees. Most vape shops don't even allow anyone under 18 years old in the door - even if its legal to do so. No junk in this article.
Title: E-Cigarettes: Second-Hand Smoke, Vaping, and the Price of FDA Regulations
(US nat'l magazine) http://reason
.com/blog/2014/03/09/reason-tv-replaye-cigarettes-second-hand
Pro-vaping video explains why the "precautionary principle" is being misused to justify skepticism about the alleged "unknowns" associated with vaping's effect on bystandards ("second hand vapor") as well as vapers. Features interview with Greg Conley (of CASAA) and NJOY Pres. Craig Weiss. What I like about it, is that it's done in the exact same style as the dreadful hit jobs that one sees on the maintream media. Sadly, this effectively-produced video has little likelihood of being broadcast in any large-scale venue, and that's not because "preventatively" (1:49) lacks a dictionary entry.
---
NEW YORK
Title: E-cigarettes: fresh air or smoke and mirrors?
(AP - re: NYC) http://www.ctpost
.com/news/us/article/E-cigarettes-fresh-air-or-smoke-and-mirrors-5303321.php#page-1 http://www.newshour24
.com/business/1ze3b2hrah/Ecigarettes-Fresh-Air-Or-Smoke-Mirrors.htm
When I read the title of this story, I expected another "hidden dangers of e-cigarettes" piece - until I saw the AP byline. To my utter astonishment, there isn't one single paragraph in this story which quotes a rep. from any of the standards ANTZ orgs, or even a local MD. The closest it comes is to quoting CT Sen. Blumenthal who points out that "it's still smoking" (regardless, I suppose, of what's in the juice). In fact the first half of the article focuses on the cost of vaping, which doesn't necessarily compare all that favorably to smoking tobacco cigarettes (according to the author). The rest of the piece focuses on two vape shop owners' journey into vaping. A very refreshing break from all the usual garbage in the media.
[ NY has a vaping=smoking bill indoor ban now in the legislature. See: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ng-e-cigs-contain-tobacco-all-workplaces.html also tax bill: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-tax-e-cig-cartridges-75-wholesale-price.html ]
---
US: CONNECTICUT
Title: State leaders push for e-cigarette regulations in Congress
(Norwalk CT US News 12 affiliate) http://connecticut.news12
.com/news/state-leaders-push-for-e-cigarette-regulations-in-congress-1.7333765
Video report on push by CT Sen. Blumenthal and cong'l delegation to support "regulations" in general. Presumably they're referring to the Protecting Children From Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act (PCECAA), but some of what they're discussing goes beyond PCECAA. The underlying premises behind the story - both as regards reporter's monologue as well what the politicians say - are: (1) e-cigarettes are marketed to children; and (2) children are starting to smoke tobacco cigarettes as a result of e-cigarettes.
[ HB 5286 - burdensome labelling requirements whose purposes is to "destroy the e-cig industry" (Bill Godshall): http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...contents-nicotine-yield-hearing-feb-28-a.html ]
---
US: NEW JERSEY
Title: Chris Christie plans new tax rate for e-cigarettes with 2015 budget
(Ind. Philadelpha PA US web site) http://www.philly
.com/philly/blogs/lifestyle/Chris-Christie-plans-new-tax-rate-for-e-cigarettes-with-2015-budget.html#Z3VY0XhW1rydW3cf.99
Junk-free article notes that public hearings on Gov. Christie's proposed tax to begin on Weds 3/12, and that the tax will likely be $2.70 per 1.5ml, i.e. about $54 for a 30ml. bottle of e-liquid.
[ NJ's house bill A1080 was originally proposed as a ban on tobacco smoking in parks and beaches, but was immediately ammended to include vaping as soon as it got on to the house floor. See: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ng-all-public-parks-beaches.html#post12349761 ]
---
US: OHIO
Title: Law banning 'e-cigarette' sales to children is a "Trojan Horse:" Shelly Kiser, American Lung Associaton of Ohio
(Cleveland OH US local paper) http://www.cleveland
.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/03/law_banning_e-cigarette_saleas.html
ALA argues that classifying vaping products as "alternative nicotine products" (instead of tobacco products) would: "lead to policies that allow products falling under this category to be exempted from the science-based polices that we know are the most-effective in getting kids to never use or to stop, like smokefree polices and pricing policies, like taxes. In other words, the problem with a simple minor sales ban is that it's a simple minor sales ban - and doesn't extend the clean air act to prohibit vaping in public parks, or tax vaping to the same extent as tobacco cigarettes. The junk in the editorial is critical, because the reader is invited to assume that vaping is just another form of smoking tobacco cigarettes (and of course the recent junk JAMA study is cited to imply that kids who vape end up as smokers). This logically leads to the writer's conclusion - why should one type of cigarette be treated any differently than another, since we should presume the two types to be identical in every way except the label? Oops, the assumption isn't proven, except by smearing vaping with all the known research about tobacco smoking. It's guilt-by-association, not public policy based on science.
[ OH's simple minor sales ban was signed by Gov. Kasich last week. OH is not under threat from any additional legislation. (PM me if you know differently. ]
Title: Law banning 'e-cigarette' sales to children makes sense: Ohio Rep. Stephanie Kunze
(Cleveland OH US local paper) http://www.cleveland
.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/03/law_banning_sale_of_e-cigarett.html
St. Rep. writes that the simple minor ban makes sense, and protects teens. This is a much simpler argument to make than the nuanced (and misleading) claim that tobacco cigarettes have a long and dreadful history, therefore we must declare vaping to be tobacco smoking. No junk. This opinion and the one listed above were apparently run side-by-side yesterday in the same paper (Cleveland Plain Dealer).
---
US: KENTUCKY
Title: Bill to ban [indoor/outdoor] smoking [and vaping] in Kentucky dead, sponsor says
(Louisville KY US local paper) http://www.courier-journal
.com/article/20140306/NEWS0101/303060111/Bill-ban-smoking-Kentucky-dead-sponsor-says?nclick_check=1
KY bill that would've banned indoor vaping is dead. Junk-free.
[ KY has a Vaping=smoking bill indoor clean air act ext. proposed, as well as both a 40% and 20% tax proposal, see CASAA call: CASAA: Call to Action! Kentucky Bills to Ban E-Cigarette Usage & Impose Excessive Tax Also some minor ban bills - esp. HB 309 which may morph into a tax, and SB 267 which establishes burdensome reporting requirements: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-require-reporting-e-cig-sales-retailers.html ]
---
US: ILLINOIS
Title: DeKalb council to consider e-cigarettes, teen nightclubs
(DeKalb, IL US local paper) http://www.daily-chronicle
.com/2014/03/09/dekalb-council-to-consider-e-cigarettes-teen-nightclubs/aib8wus/
DeKalb city council wants to place any store which has more than 20% of its sales due to vaping under the tobacco retailing ordinance. City Atty apparently buys into the idea that vaping is marketed to children. (The "teen nightclubs" aspect of this story is completely unrelated.)
[ IL currently considering two bills that require vaping supplies (but not non-cigarette tobacco) to be behind the counter, see: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...counter-exempts-tobacco-specialty-stores.html and one bill that would require special packaging: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-e-cig-products-sold-il-protect-children.html Also worth watching: SB2659, which would ban smoking in cars containing a minor - however the definition doesn't currently include vaping (and is still in the Public Health Cmte, with a status of "postponed." See: Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SB2659 ]
---
US: WISCONSIN
Title: E-cigarettes may be exempt from smoking ban
(U Wis. Student paper) http://badgerherald.com/news/2014/03/10/e-cigs-exempt-smoking-ban-nm/#
.Ux3Ywc5obfg
Plenty of space given to AHA and ALA rep.s in this piece, who naturally tout the lack of regulation, Chinese sourcing, and "fears" about children. However (amazingly) a number of other possible junky allegation aren't proffered, nor is there any effort to smear vapers with BT. Sponsor of the CASAA-proposed bill which would explicitly exempt vaping from the state's indoor clean air act (which would be the first of its kind anywhere in the world) says: "I dont know about any action this year, but Id be surprised if it doesnt pass next year." WI: SB 440 and AB 762 - both explicitly exempt vaping from the state indoor clean air act.
[ WI has two bills that would explicitly exempt from the state Indoor Clean Air Act, which CASAA strongly supports: CASAA: Call to Action! UPDATED: SUPPORT Wisconsin SB 440 and AB 762 EXEMPTING E-cigarettes from public use bans! Also see report by Kirstin: http://wivapers.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-two-days-in-wisconsins-capitol.html and: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...6240-wisconsin-updates-wisconsin-updates.html ]
---
US: OKLAHOMA
Title: E-cigarettes gain fans, critics as vaping' spreads
(Tuscaloosa OK US local paper) http://www.tuscaloosanews
.com/article/20140309/NEWS/140309624/1291/APN?p=3&tc=pg
[Syndication of a somewhat original story from SC covered yesterday, as follows ...] "Balanced" (relative to the usual standards), and generally well-researched. Local gov't equivalent rep. of Tobacco Control (Spartanburg Alcohol & Drug Abuse Commission) makes some fairly mild comments, but a respiratory therapist and certified smoking cessation counselor with the Greenville Health System indicates that "Ten years from now, we are going to see people using these products coming in for different diseases, some of which we may not have even seen." and that "liquid inside e-cigarettes contains toxic materials linked to blood clots, migraines, or even brain damage." (Is he talking about PG or just nic.?) Contains CDC minor junk and so forth.
[ SB 1892 is a mixed bag for proponents of smoke-free alternatives, because it raises the tax on Snus and other smokeless products, but exempts vaping. See: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...g-bills-introduced-oklahoma-hearing-held.html
and: Oklahoma -- OK! - ECF InfoZone ]
---
US: TEXAS
Title: New Smoking Policy at WT [West TX A&M]
(Amarillo TX US Fox Affiliate) http://www.myhighplains
.com/story/d/story/new-smoking-policy-at-wt/11707/7h69J3Uo0UmGVkqy3dBAhA
West TX A&M U adds vaping to its non-smoking policy. Nothing remarkable about that, but what's amazing is that smoking is still permitted on campus grounds, as long as it's 50 feet from a doorway. When asked about the addition of vaping, the Student Center Dir. helpfully responded that although there don't seem to have been much in the way of complaints, and no apparently healtb issues exist, "It was just something that was gaining in popularity and something that needed to be adressed by the university." Ah, I see. If it's popular, it needs to be banned.
[ TX's legislature is out of session for the year, unless Gov. Perry calls for a special session. ]
---
US: UTAH
Title: Good Question: Are E-Cigarette Commercials Legal?
(SLC UT US CBS affiliate) http://www.kutv
.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_10039.shtml
Contains this piece of junk, among others: ""The e-cigarette guys firmly believe that their product is different than a cigarette but ultimately, the end result is the same. The user is still addicted and through that addiction, the person who sells the e-cigarettes rakes in a pretty hansom [sic] profit." When I scrolled down to the comments section, I found a remarkable interchange between a miffed vaper and Adam Bramwell - Marketing Manager at Utah Department of Health (or at least that's how the poster's FB account is identified). If you live in UT or are just generally curious, I suggest you take a look. I've begun to wonder whether anyone reads those comments sections, since they're nearly always full of feedback from vapers who are fed up with biased media coverage. And yes: ads for vaping are still legal. For now.
[ Although UT is still planning to raise the age for both smoking and vaping to 21 (as a number of other states have, no other legislation appears to be pending. ]
---
US: WASHINGTON (STATE)
Title: Dozens rally in protest of e-cigarette tax
(Seattle WA US sinclair affiliate) http://www.komonews
.com/news/local/Dozens-protest-poised-e-cigarette-tax-249198841.html
Brief junk-free story on protests in Olympia (WA's capital). Ditto: http://www.seattlepi
.com/local/komo/article/Dozens-rally-in-protest-of-e-cigarette-tax-5301944.php
[ Washington's HB 2795 has been incorporated into the budget, will impose a 95% tax. See: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-cigs-95-referred-senate-ways-means-cmte.html and
CASAA: Call to Action! Washington Bill to Impose Excessive 95% Tax on E-Cigarettes text of 2795:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2013-14/Pdf/Bills/House Bills/2795.pdf ]
---
US: CALIFORNIA
Title: Seal Beach council may restrict e-cigarette, smoke shops
(Orange Co. CA US local paper) http://www.ocregister
.com/articles/council-604860-city-grease.html
Most of this report is behind a pay wall, but I've been seeing many references to Seal Beach's desire to regulate (translate: minimize) vape shops. This proposed ordinance would allgedly only require them to be in "commercial zones," although readers should be aware that "commercial" is a term of art that sometimes has different meanings in different places. Council meets 7pm tonight to consider. It's hard not to believe that the goal here is simply to ban vape shops under the guise of an ordinance that appears to be neutral.
Title: E-cigarettes face restrictions as cities update smoking ordinances
(Sacramento CA US local paper) http://www.sacbee
.com/2014/03/10/6221686/e-cigarettes-face-restrictions.html#storylink=cpy
SacBee readers won't be surprised at anything in this piece. Only one pro-vaping sentence was permitted in the final draft - a comment by a vape store owner who says that 2/3 of what he sells is nic-free liquid. Liberal amounts of space are provided to the concerns and fears of the ALA and other related organizations. If you didn't know anything about vaping, you'd come away with one conclusion: all "cigarettes" are "socially unacceptable" (according to the head of the local Chamber of Commerce), and it's a good thing that politicians recognize that the public must be protected from the "smoke" from this new - but perhaps even more dangerous - type of cigarette which is designed to appeal to children. The only thing you'd wonder is why cities haven't already banned cigarettes from China with "metal pieces" in them.
[ CA is under threat from a wide variety of legislation, such as an internet sales ban: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-shipment-e-cigarettes-anyone-california.html ]
***
COLLECTION: SCHUMER'S PRESS RELEASE
Yesterday afternoon, US NY Sen. Chuck Schumer issued a press release that combined three points, and lead to the widely-repeated headline: Teens [who vape] seven times more likely to become [tobacco] smokers The three issues that were brought together in the press release were:
1) Dutra & Glantz's "minor gateway" paper which was released in JAMA pediatrics on Thursday of last week. Although there are parts of the paper in which the authors acknowledge that correlations are not causative, there are other statements they've made in the press release, media interviews, and in the paper itself which do imply that vaping "causes more smoking, not less" (among minors).
2) A story in Weds' NYT that listed claims to the effect that the 2011-2012 CDC study of school-aged children and smoking may have undercounted vaping teens, because some of the products are sold under different names, e.g. "vape pens" or "e-hookahs." I've listed a link to that in the background area.
3) The Feb 26th introduction of the Protecting Children From Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act of 2014 (PCECAA) by a group of national US legislators (among which Schumer is a co-sponsor).
What's still not clear about the press release is whether Schumer is simply ginning up support for the existing version of the PCECAA, or whether he'll be proposing changes, or whether he's laying the groundwork for new legislation.
What is evident is that the media has accepted that vaping is being marketed to teens, and that BT is successfully conerting young vapers into tobacco smokers.
---
SCHUMER'S PRESS RELEASE - BACKGROUND
Title: E-Cigarettes, Under Aliases, Elude the Authorities
(US Nat'l Paper) http://www.nytimes
.com/2014/03/05/business/e-cigarettes-under-aliases-elude-the-authorities.html?_r=0
For background, here's the article on "vape pens" and "e-hookahs" that Schumer is talking about in his press release.
Title: Conclusion of New Glantz Study on Electronic Cigarettes is Junk Science
(Dr. Siegel's blog) http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/03/conclusion-of-new-glantz-study-on.html
For background, here's the analysis of the JAMA paper released on Thursday, in which Tobacco Control researchers Dutra and Glantz argue that vaping is a gateway behavior for minors which leads to tobacco smoking.
Title: Glantz Press Release is Dishonest with Public; Authors Appear to be Intentionally Lying to Mislead the Media and the Public
(Dr. Siegel's blog) http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot
.com/2014/03/glantz-press-release-is-dishonest-with.html
---
SCHUMER'S PRESS RELEASE - STORIES
Title: Schumer Looks To Snuff Out E-Cigarette Marketing To Kids
(NYC CBS affiliate) http://newyork.cbslocal
.com/2014/03/09/schumer-looks-to-snuff-out-e-cigarette-marketing-to-kids/ http://www.healthrender
.com/trend/Schumer-Looks-To-Snuff-Out-E-Cigarette-Marketing-To-Kids
Title: New legislation could ban e-cigarettes from targeting children
(Rochester NY US ABC affiliate) http://www.13wham
.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/new-legislation-could-ban-ecigarettes-targeting-children-10138.shtml
Title: Schumer Looks to Ban E-Cigarette Companies From Marketing to Children
(Rochester NY US NextStar affiliate) http://www.rochesterhomepage
.net/story/d/story/schumer-looks-to-ban-e-cigarette-companies-from-ma/26165/V9mOR3vP8ECRixP41GWnKg
Title: Sen. Schumer: E-cigarette companies targeting children in advertising
(Rochester NY US NBC affiliate) http://www.whec
.com/news/stories/S3355196.shtml?cat=565
Title: Schumer: Prohibit e-cigarette marketing to kids
(L.I. NY local paper) http://www.newsday
.com/news/health/schumer-prohibit-e-cigarette-marketing-to-kids-1.7335224
Title: Worried that tobacco companies are marketing to children with flavored e-cigarettes, Sen. Chuck Schumer vowed to push legislation that would close loopholes in advertising laws.
(NYC local paper) http://www.nydailynews
.com/news/politics/chuck-schumer-e-cigarette-marketing-kids-article-1.1716091
This particularly onerous paragraph indicate just how effective last week's JAMA paper was, in terms of hypnotizing the media: "Schumer cited a study published last week in JAMA Pediatrics, which found that adolescents who smoke e-cigarettes are seven times more likely to smoke traditional cigarettes."
Title: Schumer Pushes Bill to Ban E-Cigarette Companies from Marketing to Children
(NYC CNN affiliate) http://www.ny1
.com/content/news/204954/schumer-pushes-bill-to-ban-e-cigarette-companies-from-marketing-to-children
Title: Schumer wants to ban e-cigarette marketing to children
(Staten Is. NYC local paper) http://www.komonews
.com/news/local/Dozens-protest-poised-e-cigarette-tax-249198841.html
Title: Schumer targets e-cigarette marketing
(Burlington VT ind? TV) http://www.wcax
.com/story/24927169/schumer-targets-e-cigarette-marketing
Title: Schumer bill to stop e-cig companies from marketing to kids
(NYC local paper) http://www.amny
.com/news/schumer-bill-to-stop-e-cig-companies-from-marketing-to-kids-1.7334482
Title: NY Senator: E-Cigarette Companies Must Stop Targeting Children
(Sacramento CA US clear channel affiliate) http://www.kfbk
.com/articles/kfbk-news-461777/ny-senator-ecigarette-companies-must-stop-12137534/#ixzz2vZswrYxP (Lauranceburg IN ind. radio station) http://eaglecountryonline
.com/feed-article/senator-schumer-says-e-cigarette-companies-must-stop-targeting-children/
Title: Planned regulations on e-cigarettes are overdue
(Norwalk CT local paper) http://www.thehour
.com/opinion/editorials/planned-regulations-on-e-cigarettes-are-overdue/article_8a0ae57d-6f20-5b8f-b2ca-8ad7f1f239f0.html
Title: Senator Schumer Pushing for Bill to Prohibit E-Cigarette Marketing among Kids
(Ind. UK-based news amalgam site) http://www.onenewspage
.com/n/Middle+East/750cn4wjx/Senator-Schumer-Pushing-for-Bill-to-Prohibit.htm
***
Google Tips
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.)
