[ 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. ]
In addition to all the stuff listed below, the tobacco Control industry meme about BT hooking kids on tobacco cigarettes by using vaping as a "gateway" is relentlessly marching forward across the US. It's becoming harder and harder to find any article about vaping which doesn't mention this "factiod." Another press conference and press release seems likely in a few days, based on the letter sent yesterday by the sponsors of PCECAA to the White House's OMB division. (However since there have been two press conferences and several press releases about this over the last week, there will probably be some delay before the next one.)
In other developments ...
1) New Jersey hearings this week (tomorrow) and next week (19th) on Gov. Christie's proposed vaping tax, see: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ual-2-70-pack-cigarette-tax.html#post12501540 and: CASAA: Call to Action! New Jersey's Governor Christie is Proposing a Tax on E-Cigarettes at the Same Rate as Combustible Cigarettes
2) Philadelphia hearings on Thursday this week, sign up info here: CASAA: Call to Action! Philadelphia E-Cigarette Usage Ban
3) Although the UT session ends tomorrow, there appears to have been a last-minute revision to SB 112 (which had been viewed as dead). See last few posts here: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...grade-nicotine-require-license-make-sell.html
4) OH Gov. Kasich proposes taxing vaping, no legislation or amounts currently available.
5) Califiornia: Davis considering clean air act extension to ban indoor/outdoor vaping; Cerritos hearing tomorrow on proposed ord. to ban indoor and outdoor vaping by defining vaping as smoking under its clean air act; and San Diego Co. bd of supervisors votes 3-1 to define vaping as smoking in all unincorporated areas of the county, for purposes of its indoor/outdoor clean air act.
6) In a rare victory for vapers, the city of Yakima WA became only the second polity in the world (?) to explictly reject a proposed extension to a clean air act which would ban indoor/outdoor vaping. In this respect, it joins Aberdeen SD.
7) New Tobacco Control study released on POS advertising of vaping, recommends additional regulation (surprise).
8) FL's simple minor sales ban could be ready for the Sen. floor as early as 3/20; NE's simple minor sales ban is ready for Gov. Heineman's signature.
Coverage: UK (nat'l + NIR), US States: MA, PA, FL, NE, KS, ID, WA, CA
Also: Gary Cox on Matt Ridley's critique of the EU Tobacco Products directive, and Dr. Siegel explains the ethical contradictions of funding early childhood education with cigarette tax increases.
***
COLLECTIONS
Stories which are related, and not specific to a particular locality are collected at the end.
1) COLLECTION 1: The "meme" (minors are being lured to vape by BT, and ending up as tobacco smokers) is still generating massive numbers of stories. This meme has taken over most of the coverage around the world, and is likely only going to become more dominent in the future.
2) COLLECTION 2: List of six events which have helped the Tobacco Control Industry to build the "meme."
3) COLLECTION 3: FDA Too Slow on Regulations / Regulations Overdue (syndicated Bloomberg News editorial which is propagating - also built on "the meme").
4) COLLECTION 4: E-cigarettes: fresh air or smoke and mirrors? (AP story originally out of NYC which has spawned at least two dozen clones across the US).
***
STUDIES, BLOGS, ETC.
Title: President Obama Wants to Make Early Childhood Education Dependent Upon High Rates of Cigarette Sales; Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Applauds
(Dr. Seigel's Blog)
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/03/president-obama-wants-to-make-early.html
Explores the ethical, philosophical and public health contradictions of funding early childhood education with a tobacco cigarette tax increase. (Some US states are already touting their proposed taxes on vaping as potential funding sources for education.)
Title: UCSF study falsely links e-cigarettes to smoking (by Brad Rodu)
(R Street, conservative think tank)
UCSF study falsely links e-cigarettes to smoking | R Street Institute | Free Markets. Real Solutions.
Brad Rodu takes apart last weeks JAMA paper by Dutra & Glantz on another issue - the decline in teen tobacco smoking shown by the CDC's own figures, which were used to create the paper.
Title: Ridley Blasts TPD
(ECF's InfoZone)
Ridley Blasts TPD - ECF InfoZone
Gary Cox highlights Matt Ridley's perspective on the EU's Tobacco Products Directive.
Title: Electronic cigarette advertising at the point of sale: a gap in tobacco control research
(BMJ/Tobacco Control) http://tobaccocontrol.bmj
.com/content/early/2014/03/11/tobaccocontrol-2013-051337.extract.html?papetoc
I couldn't read much of this, but the first author - Ollie Ganz - is listed only as working for the Legacy Foundation. From the second para: "A pilot study was conducted from February to July 2013 to examine tobacco point-of-sale advertising in Central Harlem NYC, a predominantly low- to moderate-income African-American area." As far as I can tell, the general point is that regulations are needed to ensure that customes are not tempted to buy electronic cigarettes by certain forms of advertising which the Tobacco Control industry deems to be inconsistent with the rules governing tobacco cigarettes.
***
WORLD
Title: Reynolds and Lorillard Could Own the E-Cigarette Market
(The Street/WSJ via Yahoo Finance) http://finance.yahoo
.com/video/reynolds-lorillard-could-own-e-151936577.html
Junk-free video report on persistent rumors of a merger between Lorillard (makers of Blu and Newports) and R.J. Reynolds (makers of VUSE and Camels). Apparently neither has enough cash to buy the other; merger would make the resulting firm the world's second-largest tobacco company (second only to Altria, formerly PMI).
***
UK NATIONAL
Title: E-cigarette ad banned over health claims
(UK Nat'l paper) http://www.theguardian
.com/media/2014/mar/12/e-cigarette-ad-banned-heath-ten-motives
Advertising Standards Authority bans another ad for e-cigarettes, this time it was Ten Motives' disposables claim that: "'the healthier smoking alternative' and 'you can still enjoy smoking without worrying about the effects on your health' were misleading and the ad should be banned because health study evidence didn't specifically address this particular brand. No junk.
---
UK: NORTHERN IRELAND
Title: Smoke(less) signals: why we're vaping now
(Dublin local paper) http://www.independent
.ie/lifestyle/smokeless-signals-why-were-vaping-now-30079784.html
Surprisingly junk-free article consists mostly of quotes from vapers, some of whom are apparently well aware of the gateway argument that's become virtual gospel for regulators and politicians all over the world (people start with vaping, then they move on to tobacco - especially teens, who apparently just can't wait to move on to real cigarettes). Statement from the Irish Cancer Society is actually remarkably mild, compared to the corresponding organizations in other countries: "'In the absence of appropriate regulation and evidence, we can't recommend e-cigarettes,' says Kevin O'Hagan, health promotion manager at the ICS. 'They may not have the many poisonous, cancer-causing chemicals that tobacco smoke has, but it's unclear what the long term health impacts are.' He adds: 'E-cigarettes are marketed as recreational consumer products. They make no claims for quitting and they're not currently a proven form of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). 'Until their effectiveness as smoking cessation aids is established and we can be assured that they don't cause any harm to the user or any health risks of second-hand exposure, we're urging people to take caution in using them.'"[para break omitted] He forgot to say that manufacturers are not allowed to make cessation claims. But then this canard is often mentioned by ICS' counterpart organizations - how dare anyone sell something like this without going through the therapeutic approval process? But then again, he also forgot to say Don't even THINK about using them!" which is what we hear from most comparable organizations in other countries. Nor do I get the sense that the ICS is spending millions of gov't money to lobby politicians and regulators to pass anti-vaping rules, and/or to craft a national anti-vaping advertising/messaging campaign. One interesting statistic: although no source is cited, the piece says that 50,000 "Irish smokers" have switched. The link they use is broken, so I couldn't figure out whether "Irish" refers to both NIR and IRL or just NIR. But it's still a big number.
***
US NATIONAL
Title: Harkin, Senate Democrats Call For Administration to Finalize Regulations For E-Cigarettes, E-Hookahs
(US Nat'l news mag.) http://www.nationaljournal
.com/library/123450
Letter to White House asks for disclosure of FDA's preliminary regulations that were issued last fall, and thought to be very similar to the EU's Tobacco Products Directive. Letter also demands that the OMB's OIRA (Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs) complete their review as soon as possible, given that the 90-day review period imposed by executive order has expired. Your correspondent expects a flurry of press releases and a major press conference to come at some point in the near future, in order to follow up on Schumer's press release on Sunday (3/9) and the Blumenthal & DeLauro press conf. on Monday (3/10).
Title: The Anti-E-Cigarette Conspiracy
(US Nat'l conservative mag) http://www.nationalreview
.com/article/373157/anti-e-cigarette-conspiracy-gilbert-ross
ACSH Med. Dir. Dr. Glbert Ross says what all vapers know: the no-holds-barred national lobbying and public relations campaign conducted by American antismoking organizations against vaping is at the very least misguided, harmful, and based on junk science. At the very least. Your correspondent was left scratching his head by this sentence, however: "Everyone concerned with tobacco and health has been on tenterhooks since last November, awaiting the FDAs long-overdue ruling on how it plans to regulate e-cigarettes. The agency has the power to be flexible and maintain the current vibrant, innovative market - or it could 'deem' e-cigs to be tobacco products, effectively banning them, which would be a catastrophe." Whatever the issues involved in tobacco product regulation, the good Dr. apparently doesn't realize that the FDA has no power to regulate anything as a therapy, unless the manufacturer submits a request. Furthermore such requests typically take many years to process, a delay which the author himself apparently believes would cost lives.
Title: E-Cigs and Second-Hand Vaping
(HuffPo, US Nat'l blog/news site) http://www.huffingtonpost
.com/bill-chameides/e-cigs-and-second-hand-va_b_4948399.html
When I saw that this was written by the dean of Duke U's environmental graduate school, I figured we'd hear a lot about tin nanoparticles, diethelyne glycol (FDA '09) and so forth. I was right. Except to my utter astonishment, there's a litle teeny-tiny asterisk at the bottom of the piece which cites us to Siegel's anlaysis of the heavy metals and so forth in FDA-approved nicotine inhalers: http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/04/new-study-sounds-alarm-about-metals.html
And when the first thing we read about was all the harms of tobacco smoking, I thought - "Ah ha, here's where he mentions that there's no evidence that vaping can help you quit smoking, and that most people who vape still smoke - so what's the point?" Wrong. Not a word about cessation or harm reduction. Unsurprisingly, we hear that nicotine can "contribute to heart disease" (that's funny - why does the FDA say that it's "safe and effective" as the active ingredient in cessation therapies? Does it matter how much, or is this one of those "no safe amounts" arguments?) And it looks like nicotine and other "particulate matter" "is linked to" certain health effects (although we don't get any more information than that). Just what you'd expect. But what we didn't hear is about all those children who are allegedly being tricked into getting hooked on nicotine, and ending up as victims of BT's goal of creating more tobacco smokers. And finally we didn't hear that vapers are all "dual users" and therefore vaping leads to "more smoking, not less." So all-in-all this is not as bad as it could've been. I thought I could metaphorically hear that author chuckling after he finished explaining the "linkage" related to the ultrafine particles and concluding: "Probably won't be long before the nicotine-inhaling e-cig users of the world find themselves legislated back out into the cold to hang with their conventional nicotine-smoking addicts. (Oops. He meant "e-cig using" not "nicotine-inhaling." And he forgot to add the final sentence: "Just as they ought to be, haha.") All-in-all the "junk" in this piece arises not so much from the cited junk science, but in the author's view that vaping is just a different way to smoke another kind of cigarette (even if there's no nicotine). Smoking is smoking, right?
---
US: MASSACHUSETTS
Title: Will Government Regulation Vaporize E-Cigarettes?
(Boston MA US NPR) http://cognoscenti.wbur
.org/2014/03/12/electronic-cigarettes-john-carroll
Surprisingly, this article contains no junk. It makes the basic point that all vapers know - taxing vaping is about recovering lost tobacco taxes.
[ HB 3726 would ban vaping wherever smoking is banned, see CASAA call: CASAA: Call to Action! Massachusetts E-Cigarette Usage Ban -- HB 3726 (formerly HB 3639) (UPDATED) ]
Title: E-cigarettes: A safe way to quit?
(Springfield MA US LIN affiliate [CNN/NBC])
Local Thoracic surgeon says: "'We dont have any long term studies or any long term data on what those things do to you and so at this point, we only recommend them as a short term way to get people off cigarettes and then stop them.' He also told 22News that nicotine can have negative effects on your body, and is only used as a transitional medicine to get people off of cigarettes." (Both claims are surprising: the first is rare to find, and the second seems to belie the OTC status of most NRT-approved therapies.) No other junk.
---
US: PENNSYLVANIA
Title: Regulate e-cigarettes
(Philadelphia PA ind. web site) http://www.philly
.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20140312_Regulate_e-cigarettes.html
Opinion written by a former city health commissioner and a Tobacco Control professional concludes with this summarizing sentence: "We should not repeat the awful mistakes of the past while the truth about the impact of these products on our lives is so uncertain." In other words: we don't know enough right now, but we should assume that all "cigarettes" and forms of "smoking" pose the same threat to public health. Some aspects of the basic meme (see collection below) are cited - tobacco companies are tricking teens into joining the next geneation of tobacco smokers with "e-hookahs" etc.
[ See CASAA local alert on Philadelphia for information on how to sign up for Thursday's hearing:
CASAA: Call to Action! Philadelphia E-Cigarette Usage Ban ]
---
US: OHIO
Title: Kasich's mid-biennium review plan calls for across the board cuts in individual tax rates
(Cleveland OH US local paper) http://www.cleveland
.com/open/index.ssf/2014/03/kasichs_mid-biennium_review_pl.html
Junk-free article is mostly concerned with Gov. Kasich's new budget, just one sentence mentions vaping taxes: "The tax on a pack of cigarettes would increase from $1.25 to $1.85. There also would be an increase in the taxes on other tobacco products, as well as taxes attached to e-cigarettes." H/t to Bill G. who posted this in legislation yesterday, otherwise I wouldn't have found it. For updates, see that thread:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...cigs-increasing-cigarette-otp-tax-budget.html
---
US: FLORIDA
Title: Lawmakers Roll Foward E-Cigarette Bans
(Walnut Hill FL US ind. news amalgam site) http://www.northescambia
.com/2014/03/lawmakers-roll-foward-e-cigarette-bans
FL's SB 224 could be ready for a full Sen. vote as early as 3/20. No junk.
---
US: NEBRASKA
Title: E-cigarette ban for minors advances on unanimous vote
(Omaha NE US local paper) http://www.omaha
.com/article/20140311/LIVEWELL26/140319634/1161
NE's LB 861, a simple minor sales/possion ban, passed the unicameral legislature unanimously, and is now ready for Gov. Heineman's signature. Tobacco Control organizations had opposed the bill, because it didn't define vaping as tobacco smoking, extend the clean indoor air act to cover vaping, or impose taxes on vaping supplies and equipment. No junk. (Story reports bill as 863, but it appears to be 861).
---
US: KANSAS
Title: Health secretary briefs committee on e-cigarettes
(Topeka KS US local paper) http://cjonline
.com/news/2014-03-11/health-secretary-briefs-committee-e-cigarettes
Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Robert Moser recommends special labelling and tamperproofing for e-liquid packaging to KS House Health and Human Svc.s cmte., although no legislation is currently pending. Declines to recommend that the state clean indoor air act be extended to cover vaping (in contrast to state A/G Miller). Also cites both Lancet cessation study which found that vaping has a slightly higher cessation rate, and the JAMA "minor gateway" paper by Dutra & Glantz.
[ Kansas appears to have no pending vaping legislation, but HB2672 would vastly increase the tax on smokeless products as well as tobacco cigarettes (but not vaping - yet): http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...29-pack-increase-otp-tax-10-78-wholesale.html ]
---
US: IDAHO
Title: Police warn parents of
in e-cigarettes hitting schools
(Boise ID US King/NBC affiliate) http://www.ktvb
.com/news/Police-warn-parents-to-watch-for-new-form-of-m arijuana-hitting-schools-249611121.htm [To view this link, you will have to manually remove the space before "arijuana"]
As expected for some time by vapers, here's what's probably the beginning of a plethora of stories that will foster the impression that PVs are being used by children to do illegal drugs. Although this article uses the "m-word" to describe a certain green leafy substance, your correspondent believes that the vaporized item is in fact a derivative of same, which goes by a well-known 3-letter acronym (which cannot be provided due to forum rules, but readers will know what's being referenced). Piece contains the usual CDC minor junk about the increase in teens who have tried vaping, but for some curious reason omits reference to last week's JAMA paper by Dutra & Glantz. ID has a simple minor sales ban, but appears to be one of the very few states which isn't presently considering any additional vaping-related legislation.
---
US: WASHINGTON (STATE)
Title: Yakima council rejects ban on e-cigs, tables transit talks
(Yakima WA US local paper) http://www.yakimaherald
.com/news/latestlocalnews/2004036-8/yakima-council-rejects-e-cigarette-ban
In only the second victory of its kind for vapers on planet earth (?), the Yakima city councel voted 4-3 against extending its clean air act to cover indoor vaping in public places. The only other known instance of this occuring is Aberdeen SD. "'I just believe this is another unenforceable regulation over an otherwise legal activity,' Councilman Bill Lover said before voting against the ordinance. He was joined by council members Micah Cawley, Kathy Coffey and Rick Ensey. Council members Dave Ettl, Thomas Dittmar and Maureen Adkison voted in favor of the ordinance. Ettl said he would have liked to table the proposal and read more from supporters and opponents of e-cigarettes, but a motion for nonpassage had already been made by Ensey. 'I dont feel strongly either way, but I do feel badly for people that might be affected by this vapor,' Ettl said. [para. breaks omitted.]" No junk.
[ 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: Davis Discussing Electronic Cigarette Regulations
(Sacremento CA US fox affiliate) http://fox40
.com/2014/03/11/davis-discussing-electronic-cigarette-regulations/
Very brief article, but it appears that the ALA is lobbying the city of Davis to pass an extension of its clean air act in order to ban vaping in indoor public areas as well as in many outside locations. City manager says that they haven't gotten any compaints, but wish to "get ahead of the curve." No junk. Local vapers are urged to contact the city.
[ 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 ]
Title: Supervisors Put Limits On Electronic Cigarette Use In San Diego County
(San Diego CA US PBS) http://www.kpbs
.org/news/2014/mar/11/supervisors-put-limits-electronic-cigarette-use-sa/
Minor gateway argument cited as principal reason for banning vaping in public indoor and outdoor locations in the unincorporated areas of SD Co. A separate ord. banning the sale and possession of PVs to minors was also passed. Amazingly, vapers got one vote out of four.
Title: E-cigarette use increasingly snuffed out
(San Diego CA US local paper) http://www.utsandiego
.com/news/2014/mar/11/ecigs-cigarettes-electric-vape-laws/
General survey of decisions made by municipalities and other orgs in SD Co. All jurisdictions which have had the choice have embraced the idea of regulating vaping like smoking. Reasons cited: (1) gateway effect for both minors and vapers in general; (2) problem of determining whether someone is vaping or smoking for "security personel"; and (3) unknowns. Of all the cases in which vapers lost, there were exactly two dissenting votes mentioned. Junk comes (obviously) from the statements of elected officials. City of San Diego is next on the list, as ECF readers may know.
Title: Seal Beach council restricts new smoke, e-cigarette shops
(Orange Co. CA US local paper) http://www.ocregister
.com/articles/smoke-605195-cigarettes-city.html
City requires new vape stores to have a tobacco license and restricts them to commercial zones. It is also considering a moratorium, according to past reports.
Title: Cerritos council to consider ban on e-cigarettes use at city facilities
(Long Beach CA US local paper) http://www.presstelegram
.com/business/20140311/cerritos-council-to-consider-ban-on-e-cigarettes-use-at-city-facilities
Hearing scheduled on Thurs 3/13 (tomorrow) on proposed ord. that would ban vaping on all municipal property (city buildings, parks, etc. but not sidewalks). Astonishingly, the proposed ord. doesn't currently extend the clean indoor air act to ban vaping in private businesses. However it would be rather surprising if it wasn't ammended to do so.
Title: E-cigarettes may be toxic, UCR researchers say
(UC Riverside CA US student paper) http://www.highlandernews
.org/12750/e-cigarettes-may-be-toxic-ucr-researchers-say-3/
Well, this is what one would anticipate, after a student wrote a pro-vaping editorial in the student paper last week: http://www.highlandernews
.org/12537/e-cigarette-skeptics-unnecessarily-alarmed-by-water-vapor/
And yes, Prue Talbot's research is described. Although we don't find out how hot the oven was, when she roasted that cartridge in order to get the "tin nanoparticles." But for my troubles, I was rewarded with this rather amusing spammed blog link, that some vapers might enjoy (at least the writing is good): http://kronstantinople.blogspot
.com/2014/03/picking-up-steam-e-cigs-excellent.html
***
COLLECTION 1: MORE STORIES FROM "THE [MINOR GATEWAY] MEME"
If you've just started to catch up on what's going on, here's the meme that the Tobacco Control Industry has successfully created within the last few weeks.
Meme: E-cigarettes are being deliberately and deceptively marketed to teenagers by the tobacco industry. Once these minors use an e-cigarette, they are seven times more likely to become regular cigarette smokers. Since e-cigarette use is exploding among minors, this will lead to an explosion in the number of tobacco cigarette smokers.
The meme was created by many events - documented later in this post. Media stories that arise from the meme are listed here.
Title: Rising e-cigarette use tied to more smoking in teens
(Cape Girardeau, MO US local CBS affaliate) http://www.kfvs12
.com/story/24906419/rising-e-cigarette-use-tied-to-more-smoking-in-teens
Title: Los Angeles Bans E-Cigarettes
(US Nat'l Health site - Rodale publishing) http://www.womenshealthmag
.com/health/e-cigarette-ban
Meme cited as logical bais for L.A.'s vaping=smoking indoor/outdoor vaping ban.)
Title: Study finds e-cigarettes linked to conventional cigarette use among teens
(Advanstar Communications Pharmacist trade site) http://drugtopics.modernmedicine
.com/drug-topics/news/study-finds-e-cigarettes-linked-conventional-cigarette-use-among-teens#sthash.VGF0yWHQ.dpuf
Title: Growing concerns over electronic cigarettes
(Wichita KS US NBC affiliate) http://ksn
.com/2014/03/11/growing-concerns-over-electronic-cigarettes/
Title: Schumer: e-Cigarette Companies Targeting Children Through Advertising with no Federal Restrictions
(Long Island NY US newspaper amalgam site) http://www.longisland
.com/news/03-12-14/schumer-e-cigarette-children-advertising.html
***
COLLECTION 2: TOBACCO CONTROL INDUSTRY MINOR GATEWAY MEME - EVENTS TIMELINE
In the future, I intend to keep incrementally augmenting this section to keep track of the gradual growth of the "meme," as a service to those readers who haven't been monitoring the day-by-day progress, as well as a way to evaluate the effectiveness that this meme is having, when it comes to determining how the world views the purpose and effect of vaping.
Meme: E-cigarettes are being deliberately and deceptively marketed to teenagers by the tobacco industry. Once these minors use an e-cigarette, they are seven times more likely to become regular cigarette smokers. Since e-cigarette use is exploding among minors, this will lead to an explosion in the number of tobacco cigarette smokers.
Event 1 - Feb 26: introduction of the Protecting Children From Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act of 2014 (PCECAA) by a group of national US legislators - among them (most prominently) Sens. Boxer (CA), Schumer (NY), and Blumenthal (CT).
Result: Nationwide coverage premised on the idea that e-cigarettes are marketed to children because they are flavored and/or because of the imagery used to market them (depending on the source, this imagery is either celebrity endorsements, sexually titillating advertising, or cartoon characters).
Event 2 - Mar 4: Vape pens article in NYT introduces idea that kids are being lured by PVs which are not called "e-cigarettes" but which are marketed as "vape pens" and/or "e-hookahs" with attractive flavors in order to confuse teenagers.
Result: This piece also created a slew of outraged coverage across the US and overseas about the manner in which the "e-cigarette industry is targeting children."
Title: E-Cigarettes, by Other Names, Lure Young and Worry Experts
http://www.nytimes
.com/2014/03/05/business/e-cigarettes-under-aliases-elude-the-authorities.html
Event 3 - Mar 6: Dutra & Glantz paper published in JAMA Pediatrics which falsely claims (in some places) that the use of e-cigarettes is a causal factor in tobacco smoking, AKA a gateway effect: minors who use e-cigarettes are "seven times more likely" to become regular tobacco smokers.
http://archpedi.jamanetwork
.com/article.aspx?articleid=1840772 Criticized here for confusing causation with correlation: http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/03/conclusion-of-new-glantz-study-on.html [Also criticized by a number of Tobacco Control Organizations, such as the ACS:
Stanton Glantz is such a liar that even the ACS balks: his latest ecig gateway study | Anti-THR Lies and related topics
Result: This lead to hundreds of media stories around the world in which e-cigarettes were "linked" with increasing tobacco smoking among young people (despite the fact that these rates have dropped dramatically during the 2011-12 period in question). Paper:
Event 4 - Mar 9: NY Sen. Schumer issues a press release, in which he expresses outrage that e-cigarettes are being marketed to children, who are "seven times more likely" to become tobacco smokers - citing the Mar. 6th JAMA paper.
Result: This press release generated scores of articles around the world:
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/
Event 5 - Mar 10: CT Sen. Blumenthal and Rep. DeLauro hold a news conf. and issue a press release in which they re-iterate the points made in Schumer's earlier press release, and emphasize the issues cited in the March 4th NYT article concerning "vape pens" and "e-hookahs."
Title: Blumenthal, DeLauro: E-hookahs attractive, dangerous, and marketed to children
(Republished from NH Register, New Haven CT local paper) http://www.middletownpress
.com/general-news/20140310/blumenthal-delauro-e-hookahs-attractive-dangerous-and-marketed-to-children
Result: Once again, this received wide and admiring coverage around the US, and in some cases overseas.
Event 6 - Mar 11: IA Sen Harkin and several other sponsoring Sen.s of the PCECAA mail letter to White House, calling for the FDA to release regulations the that FDA originally proposed last fall (but which were rejected by the Office of Management and Budget as too burdensome).
http://www.nationaljournal
.com/library/123450
Result: As of this writing, there are no press reports about this letter - but no news conf. has been called, nor (?) has a press release been issued. Stay tuned for this to generate another hundred stories or so when it does:
***
COLLECTION 3: FDA TOO SLOW ON E-CIG. REGULATIONS / REGULATIONS OVERDUE (BLOOMBERG NEWS SERVICE)
First published by Bloomberg News Service, this piece started in CT and is now migrating from the NE. At least two titles have been used so far, and more will likely come.
Look for the first line: "Could someone please send the Food and Drug Administration a copy of the latest study on teenagers and e-cigarettes? The agency obviously needs a push to come out with its overdue regulations." (Refers to the Dutra & Glantz study released last week which claims that e-cigarettes are a gateway for minors to tobacco smoking.)
Previously I've classified this as a general offshoot of the fallout over the combination of the five "meme building events" (see above), but as more knockoffs of this end up around the nation, it needs to be recognized as a separate strain. The general idea should be obvious from what I quoted above: namely, e-cigarettes are creating a new generation of tobacco cigarette smokers, starting with children - therefore the FDA must act to ban flavors, restrict advertising, and emulate the EU's Tobacco Products Directive in other respects.
Title: FDA too slow on e-cigarette regulations
(Raleigh-Durham NC US local paper) http://www.newsobserver
.com/2014/03/11/3693093/fda-too-slow-on-e-cigarette-regulations.html
Title: Planned regulations on e-cigarettes are overdue
(Norwalk CT US local paper) http://www.thehour
.com/opinion/editorials/planned-regulations-on-e-cigarettes-are-overdue/article_8a0ae57d-6f20-5b8f-b2ca-8ad7f1f239f0.html
Title: Editorial: Planned regulations on e-cigarettes are overdue
(NH CT US local paper) http://www.nhregister
.com/general-news/20140311/editorial-planned-regulations-on-e-cigarettes-are-overdue
***
COLLECTION 4: E-cigarettes: fresh air or smoke and mirrors?
This AP story has been making the rounds, at least two dozen syndicated copies have appeared in the last four days. Some of the clones have different titles, just look for the AP attribution and writer Leanne Italie's byline.
http://westhawaiitoday
.com/news/nation-world-news/e-cigarettes-fresh-air-or-smoke-and-mirrors
http://www.telegram
.com/article/20140312/NEWS/303129988/1312/mobile&TEMPLATE=MOBILE
Title: E-cigarettes: fresh air or smoke and mirrors? [original story]
(AP - re: NYC) http://abcnews.go
.com/US/wireStory/cigarettes-fresh-air-smoke-mirrors-22845459
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 ]
***
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.)
In addition to all the stuff listed below, the tobacco Control industry meme about BT hooking kids on tobacco cigarettes by using vaping as a "gateway" is relentlessly marching forward across the US. It's becoming harder and harder to find any article about vaping which doesn't mention this "factiod." Another press conference and press release seems likely in a few days, based on the letter sent yesterday by the sponsors of PCECAA to the White House's OMB division. (However since there have been two press conferences and several press releases about this over the last week, there will probably be some delay before the next one.)
In other developments ...
1) New Jersey hearings this week (tomorrow) and next week (19th) on Gov. Christie's proposed vaping tax, see: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ual-2-70-pack-cigarette-tax.html#post12501540 and: CASAA: Call to Action! New Jersey's Governor Christie is Proposing a Tax on E-Cigarettes at the Same Rate as Combustible Cigarettes
2) Philadelphia hearings on Thursday this week, sign up info here: CASAA: Call to Action! Philadelphia E-Cigarette Usage Ban
3) Although the UT session ends tomorrow, there appears to have been a last-minute revision to SB 112 (which had been viewed as dead). See last few posts here: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...grade-nicotine-require-license-make-sell.html
4) OH Gov. Kasich proposes taxing vaping, no legislation or amounts currently available.
5) Califiornia: Davis considering clean air act extension to ban indoor/outdoor vaping; Cerritos hearing tomorrow on proposed ord. to ban indoor and outdoor vaping by defining vaping as smoking under its clean air act; and San Diego Co. bd of supervisors votes 3-1 to define vaping as smoking in all unincorporated areas of the county, for purposes of its indoor/outdoor clean air act.
6) In a rare victory for vapers, the city of Yakima WA became only the second polity in the world (?) to explictly reject a proposed extension to a clean air act which would ban indoor/outdoor vaping. In this respect, it joins Aberdeen SD.
7) New Tobacco Control study released on POS advertising of vaping, recommends additional regulation (surprise).
8) FL's simple minor sales ban could be ready for the Sen. floor as early as 3/20; NE's simple minor sales ban is ready for Gov. Heineman's signature.
Coverage: UK (nat'l + NIR), US States: MA, PA, FL, NE, KS, ID, WA, CA
Also: Gary Cox on Matt Ridley's critique of the EU Tobacco Products directive, and Dr. Siegel explains the ethical contradictions of funding early childhood education with cigarette tax increases.
***
COLLECTIONS
Stories which are related, and not specific to a particular locality are collected at the end.
1) COLLECTION 1: The "meme" (minors are being lured to vape by BT, and ending up as tobacco smokers) is still generating massive numbers of stories. This meme has taken over most of the coverage around the world, and is likely only going to become more dominent in the future.
2) COLLECTION 2: List of six events which have helped the Tobacco Control Industry to build the "meme."
3) COLLECTION 3: FDA Too Slow on Regulations / Regulations Overdue (syndicated Bloomberg News editorial which is propagating - also built on "the meme").
4) COLLECTION 4: E-cigarettes: fresh air or smoke and mirrors? (AP story originally out of NYC which has spawned at least two dozen clones across the US).
***
STUDIES, BLOGS, ETC.
Title: President Obama Wants to Make Early Childhood Education Dependent Upon High Rates of Cigarette Sales; Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Applauds
(Dr. Seigel's Blog)
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/03/president-obama-wants-to-make-early.html
Explores the ethical, philosophical and public health contradictions of funding early childhood education with a tobacco cigarette tax increase. (Some US states are already touting their proposed taxes on vaping as potential funding sources for education.)
Title: UCSF study falsely links e-cigarettes to smoking (by Brad Rodu)
(R Street, conservative think tank)
UCSF study falsely links e-cigarettes to smoking | R Street Institute | Free Markets. Real Solutions.
Brad Rodu takes apart last weeks JAMA paper by Dutra & Glantz on another issue - the decline in teen tobacco smoking shown by the CDC's own figures, which were used to create the paper.
Title: Ridley Blasts TPD
(ECF's InfoZone)
Ridley Blasts TPD - ECF InfoZone
Gary Cox highlights Matt Ridley's perspective on the EU's Tobacco Products Directive.
Title: Electronic cigarette advertising at the point of sale: a gap in tobacco control research
(BMJ/Tobacco Control) http://tobaccocontrol.bmj
.com/content/early/2014/03/11/tobaccocontrol-2013-051337.extract.html?papetoc
I couldn't read much of this, but the first author - Ollie Ganz - is listed only as working for the Legacy Foundation. From the second para: "A pilot study was conducted from February to July 2013 to examine tobacco point-of-sale advertising in Central Harlem NYC, a predominantly low- to moderate-income African-American area." As far as I can tell, the general point is that regulations are needed to ensure that customes are not tempted to buy electronic cigarettes by certain forms of advertising which the Tobacco Control industry deems to be inconsistent with the rules governing tobacco cigarettes.
***
WORLD
Title: Reynolds and Lorillard Could Own the E-Cigarette Market
(The Street/WSJ via Yahoo Finance) http://finance.yahoo
.com/video/reynolds-lorillard-could-own-e-151936577.html
Junk-free video report on persistent rumors of a merger between Lorillard (makers of Blu and Newports) and R.J. Reynolds (makers of VUSE and Camels). Apparently neither has enough cash to buy the other; merger would make the resulting firm the world's second-largest tobacco company (second only to Altria, formerly PMI).
***
UK NATIONAL
Title: E-cigarette ad banned over health claims
(UK Nat'l paper) http://www.theguardian
.com/media/2014/mar/12/e-cigarette-ad-banned-heath-ten-motives
Advertising Standards Authority bans another ad for e-cigarettes, this time it was Ten Motives' disposables claim that: "'the healthier smoking alternative' and 'you can still enjoy smoking without worrying about the effects on your health' were misleading and the ad should be banned because health study evidence didn't specifically address this particular brand. No junk.
---
UK: NORTHERN IRELAND
Title: Smoke(less) signals: why we're vaping now
(Dublin local paper) http://www.independent
.ie/lifestyle/smokeless-signals-why-were-vaping-now-30079784.html
Surprisingly junk-free article consists mostly of quotes from vapers, some of whom are apparently well aware of the gateway argument that's become virtual gospel for regulators and politicians all over the world (people start with vaping, then they move on to tobacco - especially teens, who apparently just can't wait to move on to real cigarettes). Statement from the Irish Cancer Society is actually remarkably mild, compared to the corresponding organizations in other countries: "'In the absence of appropriate regulation and evidence, we can't recommend e-cigarettes,' says Kevin O'Hagan, health promotion manager at the ICS. 'They may not have the many poisonous, cancer-causing chemicals that tobacco smoke has, but it's unclear what the long term health impacts are.' He adds: 'E-cigarettes are marketed as recreational consumer products. They make no claims for quitting and they're not currently a proven form of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). 'Until their effectiveness as smoking cessation aids is established and we can be assured that they don't cause any harm to the user or any health risks of second-hand exposure, we're urging people to take caution in using them.'"[para break omitted] He forgot to say that manufacturers are not allowed to make cessation claims. But then this canard is often mentioned by ICS' counterpart organizations - how dare anyone sell something like this without going through the therapeutic approval process? But then again, he also forgot to say Don't even THINK about using them!" which is what we hear from most comparable organizations in other countries. Nor do I get the sense that the ICS is spending millions of gov't money to lobby politicians and regulators to pass anti-vaping rules, and/or to craft a national anti-vaping advertising/messaging campaign. One interesting statistic: although no source is cited, the piece says that 50,000 "Irish smokers" have switched. The link they use is broken, so I couldn't figure out whether "Irish" refers to both NIR and IRL or just NIR. But it's still a big number.
***
US NATIONAL
Title: Harkin, Senate Democrats Call For Administration to Finalize Regulations For E-Cigarettes, E-Hookahs
(US Nat'l news mag.) http://www.nationaljournal
.com/library/123450
Letter to White House asks for disclosure of FDA's preliminary regulations that were issued last fall, and thought to be very similar to the EU's Tobacco Products Directive. Letter also demands that the OMB's OIRA (Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs) complete their review as soon as possible, given that the 90-day review period imposed by executive order has expired. Your correspondent expects a flurry of press releases and a major press conference to come at some point in the near future, in order to follow up on Schumer's press release on Sunday (3/9) and the Blumenthal & DeLauro press conf. on Monday (3/10).
Title: The Anti-E-Cigarette Conspiracy
(US Nat'l conservative mag) http://www.nationalreview
.com/article/373157/anti-e-cigarette-conspiracy-gilbert-ross
ACSH Med. Dir. Dr. Glbert Ross says what all vapers know: the no-holds-barred national lobbying and public relations campaign conducted by American antismoking organizations against vaping is at the very least misguided, harmful, and based on junk science. At the very least. Your correspondent was left scratching his head by this sentence, however: "Everyone concerned with tobacco and health has been on tenterhooks since last November, awaiting the FDAs long-overdue ruling on how it plans to regulate e-cigarettes. The agency has the power to be flexible and maintain the current vibrant, innovative market - or it could 'deem' e-cigs to be tobacco products, effectively banning them, which would be a catastrophe." Whatever the issues involved in tobacco product regulation, the good Dr. apparently doesn't realize that the FDA has no power to regulate anything as a therapy, unless the manufacturer submits a request. Furthermore such requests typically take many years to process, a delay which the author himself apparently believes would cost lives.
Title: E-Cigs and Second-Hand Vaping
(HuffPo, US Nat'l blog/news site) http://www.huffingtonpost
.com/bill-chameides/e-cigs-and-second-hand-va_b_4948399.html
When I saw that this was written by the dean of Duke U's environmental graduate school, I figured we'd hear a lot about tin nanoparticles, diethelyne glycol (FDA '09) and so forth. I was right. Except to my utter astonishment, there's a litle teeny-tiny asterisk at the bottom of the piece which cites us to Siegel's anlaysis of the heavy metals and so forth in FDA-approved nicotine inhalers: http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/04/new-study-sounds-alarm-about-metals.html
And when the first thing we read about was all the harms of tobacco smoking, I thought - "Ah ha, here's where he mentions that there's no evidence that vaping can help you quit smoking, and that most people who vape still smoke - so what's the point?" Wrong. Not a word about cessation or harm reduction. Unsurprisingly, we hear that nicotine can "contribute to heart disease" (that's funny - why does the FDA say that it's "safe and effective" as the active ingredient in cessation therapies? Does it matter how much, or is this one of those "no safe amounts" arguments?) And it looks like nicotine and other "particulate matter" "is linked to" certain health effects (although we don't get any more information than that). Just what you'd expect. But what we didn't hear is about all those children who are allegedly being tricked into getting hooked on nicotine, and ending up as victims of BT's goal of creating more tobacco smokers. And finally we didn't hear that vapers are all "dual users" and therefore vaping leads to "more smoking, not less." So all-in-all this is not as bad as it could've been. I thought I could metaphorically hear that author chuckling after he finished explaining the "linkage" related to the ultrafine particles and concluding: "Probably won't be long before the nicotine-inhaling e-cig users of the world find themselves legislated back out into the cold to hang with their conventional nicotine-smoking addicts. (Oops. He meant "e-cig using" not "nicotine-inhaling." And he forgot to add the final sentence: "Just as they ought to be, haha.") All-in-all the "junk" in this piece arises not so much from the cited junk science, but in the author's view that vaping is just a different way to smoke another kind of cigarette (even if there's no nicotine). Smoking is smoking, right?
---
US: MASSACHUSETTS
Title: Will Government Regulation Vaporize E-Cigarettes?
(Boston MA US NPR) http://cognoscenti.wbur
.org/2014/03/12/electronic-cigarettes-john-carroll
Surprisingly, this article contains no junk. It makes the basic point that all vapers know - taxing vaping is about recovering lost tobacco taxes.
[ HB 3726 would ban vaping wherever smoking is banned, see CASAA call: CASAA: Call to Action! Massachusetts E-Cigarette Usage Ban -- HB 3726 (formerly HB 3639) (UPDATED) ]
Title: E-cigarettes: A safe way to quit?
(Springfield MA US LIN affiliate [CNN/NBC])
Local Thoracic surgeon says: "'We dont have any long term studies or any long term data on what those things do to you and so at this point, we only recommend them as a short term way to get people off cigarettes and then stop them.' He also told 22News that nicotine can have negative effects on your body, and is only used as a transitional medicine to get people off of cigarettes." (Both claims are surprising: the first is rare to find, and the second seems to belie the OTC status of most NRT-approved therapies.) No other junk.
---
US: PENNSYLVANIA
Title: Regulate e-cigarettes
(Philadelphia PA ind. web site) http://www.philly
.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20140312_Regulate_e-cigarettes.html
Opinion written by a former city health commissioner and a Tobacco Control professional concludes with this summarizing sentence: "We should not repeat the awful mistakes of the past while the truth about the impact of these products on our lives is so uncertain." In other words: we don't know enough right now, but we should assume that all "cigarettes" and forms of "smoking" pose the same threat to public health. Some aspects of the basic meme (see collection below) are cited - tobacco companies are tricking teens into joining the next geneation of tobacco smokers with "e-hookahs" etc.
[ See CASAA local alert on Philadelphia for information on how to sign up for Thursday's hearing:
CASAA: Call to Action! Philadelphia E-Cigarette Usage Ban ]
---
US: OHIO
Title: Kasich's mid-biennium review plan calls for across the board cuts in individual tax rates
(Cleveland OH US local paper) http://www.cleveland
.com/open/index.ssf/2014/03/kasichs_mid-biennium_review_pl.html
Junk-free article is mostly concerned with Gov. Kasich's new budget, just one sentence mentions vaping taxes: "The tax on a pack of cigarettes would increase from $1.25 to $1.85. There also would be an increase in the taxes on other tobacco products, as well as taxes attached to e-cigarettes." H/t to Bill G. who posted this in legislation yesterday, otherwise I wouldn't have found it. For updates, see that thread:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...cigs-increasing-cigarette-otp-tax-budget.html
---
US: FLORIDA
Title: Lawmakers Roll Foward E-Cigarette Bans
(Walnut Hill FL US ind. news amalgam site) http://www.northescambia
.com/2014/03/lawmakers-roll-foward-e-cigarette-bans
FL's SB 224 could be ready for a full Sen. vote as early as 3/20. No junk.
---
US: NEBRASKA
Title: E-cigarette ban for minors advances on unanimous vote
(Omaha NE US local paper) http://www.omaha
.com/article/20140311/LIVEWELL26/140319634/1161
NE's LB 861, a simple minor sales/possion ban, passed the unicameral legislature unanimously, and is now ready for Gov. Heineman's signature. Tobacco Control organizations had opposed the bill, because it didn't define vaping as tobacco smoking, extend the clean indoor air act to cover vaping, or impose taxes on vaping supplies and equipment. No junk. (Story reports bill as 863, but it appears to be 861).
---
US: KANSAS
Title: Health secretary briefs committee on e-cigarettes
(Topeka KS US local paper) http://cjonline
.com/news/2014-03-11/health-secretary-briefs-committee-e-cigarettes
Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Robert Moser recommends special labelling and tamperproofing for e-liquid packaging to KS House Health and Human Svc.s cmte., although no legislation is currently pending. Declines to recommend that the state clean indoor air act be extended to cover vaping (in contrast to state A/G Miller). Also cites both Lancet cessation study which found that vaping has a slightly higher cessation rate, and the JAMA "minor gateway" paper by Dutra & Glantz.
[ Kansas appears to have no pending vaping legislation, but HB2672 would vastly increase the tax on smokeless products as well as tobacco cigarettes (but not vaping - yet): http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...29-pack-increase-otp-tax-10-78-wholesale.html ]
---
US: IDAHO
Title: Police warn parents of
in e-cigarettes hitting schools (Boise ID US King/NBC affiliate) http://www.ktvb
.com/news/Police-warn-parents-to-watch-for-new-form-of-m arijuana-hitting-schools-249611121.htm [To view this link, you will have to manually remove the space before "arijuana"]
As expected for some time by vapers, here's what's probably the beginning of a plethora of stories that will foster the impression that PVs are being used by children to do illegal drugs. Although this article uses the "m-word" to describe a certain green leafy substance, your correspondent believes that the vaporized item is in fact a derivative of same, which goes by a well-known 3-letter acronym (which cannot be provided due to forum rules, but readers will know what's being referenced). Piece contains the usual CDC minor junk about the increase in teens who have tried vaping, but for some curious reason omits reference to last week's JAMA paper by Dutra & Glantz. ID has a simple minor sales ban, but appears to be one of the very few states which isn't presently considering any additional vaping-related legislation.
---
US: WASHINGTON (STATE)
Title: Yakima council rejects ban on e-cigs, tables transit talks
(Yakima WA US local paper) http://www.yakimaherald
.com/news/latestlocalnews/2004036-8/yakima-council-rejects-e-cigarette-ban
In only the second victory of its kind for vapers on planet earth (?), the Yakima city councel voted 4-3 against extending its clean air act to cover indoor vaping in public places. The only other known instance of this occuring is Aberdeen SD. "'I just believe this is another unenforceable regulation over an otherwise legal activity,' Councilman Bill Lover said before voting against the ordinance. He was joined by council members Micah Cawley, Kathy Coffey and Rick Ensey. Council members Dave Ettl, Thomas Dittmar and Maureen Adkison voted in favor of the ordinance. Ettl said he would have liked to table the proposal and read more from supporters and opponents of e-cigarettes, but a motion for nonpassage had already been made by Ensey. 'I dont feel strongly either way, but I do feel badly for people that might be affected by this vapor,' Ettl said. [para. breaks omitted.]" No junk.
[ 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: Davis Discussing Electronic Cigarette Regulations
(Sacremento CA US fox affiliate) http://fox40
.com/2014/03/11/davis-discussing-electronic-cigarette-regulations/
Very brief article, but it appears that the ALA is lobbying the city of Davis to pass an extension of its clean air act in order to ban vaping in indoor public areas as well as in many outside locations. City manager says that they haven't gotten any compaints, but wish to "get ahead of the curve." No junk. Local vapers are urged to contact the city.
[ 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 ]
Title: Supervisors Put Limits On Electronic Cigarette Use In San Diego County
(San Diego CA US PBS) http://www.kpbs
.org/news/2014/mar/11/supervisors-put-limits-electronic-cigarette-use-sa/
Minor gateway argument cited as principal reason for banning vaping in public indoor and outdoor locations in the unincorporated areas of SD Co. A separate ord. banning the sale and possession of PVs to minors was also passed. Amazingly, vapers got one vote out of four.
Title: E-cigarette use increasingly snuffed out
(San Diego CA US local paper) http://www.utsandiego
.com/news/2014/mar/11/ecigs-cigarettes-electric-vape-laws/
General survey of decisions made by municipalities and other orgs in SD Co. All jurisdictions which have had the choice have embraced the idea of regulating vaping like smoking. Reasons cited: (1) gateway effect for both minors and vapers in general; (2) problem of determining whether someone is vaping or smoking for "security personel"; and (3) unknowns. Of all the cases in which vapers lost, there were exactly two dissenting votes mentioned. Junk comes (obviously) from the statements of elected officials. City of San Diego is next on the list, as ECF readers may know.
Title: Seal Beach council restricts new smoke, e-cigarette shops
(Orange Co. CA US local paper) http://www.ocregister
.com/articles/smoke-605195-cigarettes-city.html
City requires new vape stores to have a tobacco license and restricts them to commercial zones. It is also considering a moratorium, according to past reports.
Title: Cerritos council to consider ban on e-cigarettes use at city facilities
(Long Beach CA US local paper) http://www.presstelegram
.com/business/20140311/cerritos-council-to-consider-ban-on-e-cigarettes-use-at-city-facilities
Hearing scheduled on Thurs 3/13 (tomorrow) on proposed ord. that would ban vaping on all municipal property (city buildings, parks, etc. but not sidewalks). Astonishingly, the proposed ord. doesn't currently extend the clean indoor air act to ban vaping in private businesses. However it would be rather surprising if it wasn't ammended to do so.
Title: E-cigarettes may be toxic, UCR researchers say
(UC Riverside CA US student paper) http://www.highlandernews
.org/12750/e-cigarettes-may-be-toxic-ucr-researchers-say-3/
Well, this is what one would anticipate, after a student wrote a pro-vaping editorial in the student paper last week: http://www.highlandernews
.org/12537/e-cigarette-skeptics-unnecessarily-alarmed-by-water-vapor/
And yes, Prue Talbot's research is described. Although we don't find out how hot the oven was, when she roasted that cartridge in order to get the "tin nanoparticles." But for my troubles, I was rewarded with this rather amusing spammed blog link, that some vapers might enjoy (at least the writing is good): http://kronstantinople.blogspot
.com/2014/03/picking-up-steam-e-cigs-excellent.html
***
COLLECTION 1: MORE STORIES FROM "THE [MINOR GATEWAY] MEME"
If you've just started to catch up on what's going on, here's the meme that the Tobacco Control Industry has successfully created within the last few weeks.
Meme: E-cigarettes are being deliberately and deceptively marketed to teenagers by the tobacco industry. Once these minors use an e-cigarette, they are seven times more likely to become regular cigarette smokers. Since e-cigarette use is exploding among minors, this will lead to an explosion in the number of tobacco cigarette smokers.
The meme was created by many events - documented later in this post. Media stories that arise from the meme are listed here.
Title: Rising e-cigarette use tied to more smoking in teens
(Cape Girardeau, MO US local CBS affaliate) http://www.kfvs12
.com/story/24906419/rising-e-cigarette-use-tied-to-more-smoking-in-teens
Title: Los Angeles Bans E-Cigarettes
(US Nat'l Health site - Rodale publishing) http://www.womenshealthmag
.com/health/e-cigarette-ban
Meme cited as logical bais for L.A.'s vaping=smoking indoor/outdoor vaping ban.)
Title: Study finds e-cigarettes linked to conventional cigarette use among teens
(Advanstar Communications Pharmacist trade site) http://drugtopics.modernmedicine
.com/drug-topics/news/study-finds-e-cigarettes-linked-conventional-cigarette-use-among-teens#sthash.VGF0yWHQ.dpuf
Title: Growing concerns over electronic cigarettes
(Wichita KS US NBC affiliate) http://ksn
.com/2014/03/11/growing-concerns-over-electronic-cigarettes/
Title: Schumer: e-Cigarette Companies Targeting Children Through Advertising with no Federal Restrictions
(Long Island NY US newspaper amalgam site) http://www.longisland
.com/news/03-12-14/schumer-e-cigarette-children-advertising.html
***
COLLECTION 2: TOBACCO CONTROL INDUSTRY MINOR GATEWAY MEME - EVENTS TIMELINE
In the future, I intend to keep incrementally augmenting this section to keep track of the gradual growth of the "meme," as a service to those readers who haven't been monitoring the day-by-day progress, as well as a way to evaluate the effectiveness that this meme is having, when it comes to determining how the world views the purpose and effect of vaping.
Meme: E-cigarettes are being deliberately and deceptively marketed to teenagers by the tobacco industry. Once these minors use an e-cigarette, they are seven times more likely to become regular cigarette smokers. Since e-cigarette use is exploding among minors, this will lead to an explosion in the number of tobacco cigarette smokers.
Event 1 - Feb 26: introduction of the Protecting Children From Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act of 2014 (PCECAA) by a group of national US legislators - among them (most prominently) Sens. Boxer (CA), Schumer (NY), and Blumenthal (CT).
Result: Nationwide coverage premised on the idea that e-cigarettes are marketed to children because they are flavored and/or because of the imagery used to market them (depending on the source, this imagery is either celebrity endorsements, sexually titillating advertising, or cartoon characters).
Event 2 - Mar 4: Vape pens article in NYT introduces idea that kids are being lured by PVs which are not called "e-cigarettes" but which are marketed as "vape pens" and/or "e-hookahs" with attractive flavors in order to confuse teenagers.
Result: This piece also created a slew of outraged coverage across the US and overseas about the manner in which the "e-cigarette industry is targeting children."
Title: E-Cigarettes, by Other Names, Lure Young and Worry Experts
http://www.nytimes
.com/2014/03/05/business/e-cigarettes-under-aliases-elude-the-authorities.html
Event 3 - Mar 6: Dutra & Glantz paper published in JAMA Pediatrics which falsely claims (in some places) that the use of e-cigarettes is a causal factor in tobacco smoking, AKA a gateway effect: minors who use e-cigarettes are "seven times more likely" to become regular tobacco smokers.
http://archpedi.jamanetwork
.com/article.aspx?articleid=1840772 Criticized here for confusing causation with correlation: http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/03/conclusion-of-new-glantz-study-on.html [Also criticized by a number of Tobacco Control Organizations, such as the ACS:
Stanton Glantz is such a liar that even the ACS balks: his latest ecig gateway study | Anti-THR Lies and related topics
Result: This lead to hundreds of media stories around the world in which e-cigarettes were "linked" with increasing tobacco smoking among young people (despite the fact that these rates have dropped dramatically during the 2011-12 period in question). Paper:
Event 4 - Mar 9: NY Sen. Schumer issues a press release, in which he expresses outrage that e-cigarettes are being marketed to children, who are "seven times more likely" to become tobacco smokers - citing the Mar. 6th JAMA paper.
Result: This press release generated scores of articles around the world:
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/
Event 5 - Mar 10: CT Sen. Blumenthal and Rep. DeLauro hold a news conf. and issue a press release in which they re-iterate the points made in Schumer's earlier press release, and emphasize the issues cited in the March 4th NYT article concerning "vape pens" and "e-hookahs."
Title: Blumenthal, DeLauro: E-hookahs attractive, dangerous, and marketed to children
(Republished from NH Register, New Haven CT local paper) http://www.middletownpress
.com/general-news/20140310/blumenthal-delauro-e-hookahs-attractive-dangerous-and-marketed-to-children
Result: Once again, this received wide and admiring coverage around the US, and in some cases overseas.
Event 6 - Mar 11: IA Sen Harkin and several other sponsoring Sen.s of the PCECAA mail letter to White House, calling for the FDA to release regulations the that FDA originally proposed last fall (but which were rejected by the Office of Management and Budget as too burdensome).
http://www.nationaljournal
.com/library/123450
Result: As of this writing, there are no press reports about this letter - but no news conf. has been called, nor (?) has a press release been issued. Stay tuned for this to generate another hundred stories or so when it does:
***
COLLECTION 3: FDA TOO SLOW ON E-CIG. REGULATIONS / REGULATIONS OVERDUE (BLOOMBERG NEWS SERVICE)
First published by Bloomberg News Service, this piece started in CT and is now migrating from the NE. At least two titles have been used so far, and more will likely come.
Look for the first line: "Could someone please send the Food and Drug Administration a copy of the latest study on teenagers and e-cigarettes? The agency obviously needs a push to come out with its overdue regulations." (Refers to the Dutra & Glantz study released last week which claims that e-cigarettes are a gateway for minors to tobacco smoking.)
Previously I've classified this as a general offshoot of the fallout over the combination of the five "meme building events" (see above), but as more knockoffs of this end up around the nation, it needs to be recognized as a separate strain. The general idea should be obvious from what I quoted above: namely, e-cigarettes are creating a new generation of tobacco cigarette smokers, starting with children - therefore the FDA must act to ban flavors, restrict advertising, and emulate the EU's Tobacco Products Directive in other respects.
Title: FDA too slow on e-cigarette regulations
(Raleigh-Durham NC US local paper) http://www.newsobserver
.com/2014/03/11/3693093/fda-too-slow-on-e-cigarette-regulations.html
Title: Planned regulations on e-cigarettes are overdue
(Norwalk CT US local paper) http://www.thehour
.com/opinion/editorials/planned-regulations-on-e-cigarettes-are-overdue/article_8a0ae57d-6f20-5b8f-b2ca-8ad7f1f239f0.html
Title: Editorial: Planned regulations on e-cigarettes are overdue
(NH CT US local paper) http://www.nhregister
.com/general-news/20140311/editorial-planned-regulations-on-e-cigarettes-are-overdue
***
COLLECTION 4: E-cigarettes: fresh air or smoke and mirrors?
This AP story has been making the rounds, at least two dozen syndicated copies have appeared in the last four days. Some of the clones have different titles, just look for the AP attribution and writer Leanne Italie's byline.
http://westhawaiitoday
.com/news/nation-world-news/e-cigarettes-fresh-air-or-smoke-and-mirrors
http://www.telegram
.com/article/20140312/NEWS/303129988/1312/mobile&TEMPLATE=MOBILE
Title: E-cigarettes: fresh air or smoke and mirrors? [original story]
(AP - re: NYC) http://abcnews.go
.com/US/wireStory/cigarettes-fresh-air-smoke-mirrors-22845459
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 ]
***
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.)
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, calm down 
, and let the blood pressure return to normal 
.
