CA – Beverly Hills – Stop a Flavor Ban!

[kristin]

The Beverly Hills City Council is moving forward with a proposal that will ban the sale of flavored tobacco and vapor products. This is an all-out ban. There are no exemptions for specialty, adult-only shops.

There are two opportunities to comment on the proposed flavor ban on

Tuesday August 7, 2018

City Council Study Session

2:30 PM

Council Chamber

455 North Rexford Drive

Beverly Hills, CA 90210



Later in the evening, the proposed ordinance will be read for the first time during the

Tuesday August 7, 2018

City Council Regular Meeting

7:00 PM

Council Chamber

455 North Rexford Drive

Beverly Hills, CA 90210



Please make plans to attend either of these meetings and share your objection to this ban. If you wish to speak, you must fill out a speaker’s card prior to the start of the meeting. Your comments should be limited to three minutes. Even if you don’t plan to speak, your presence at these meetings is important as it demonstrates the large numbers of people affected by this issue.

Suggested Talking Points

• Briefly, share your story about switching to vapor products. Be sure to mention the role, if any, that the variety of flavored vapor products played in your transition. It would also be helpful to mention your first exposure to e-cigarettes; did you purchase a product from a convenience store or gas station or did you instinctively know to go to a specialty vapor store?
• Surveys published in 2016 confirm that adult consumers prefer flavors other than traditional tobacco and menthol (Big Survey 2014 - Initial Findings Eliquid), (Impact of Flavour Variability on Electronic Cigarette Use Experience: An Internet Survey)
• Flavors are an important aspect of vapor products as they help former smokers disassociate nicotine consumption from inhaling smoke and the taste of tobacco.
• Prohibiting flavor options creates a barrier to becoming smoke free and, as a result, many adults will actually be encouraged to continue smoking instead of making the switch to a product that is estimated to be 99% less hazardous than smoking.
• Sales of flavored smoke-free tobacco and nicotine products should not be restricted to adult-only or specialty retailers. It is important that smokers are exposed to safer alternatives in retail environments where they normally purchase cigarettes.

If you are unable to attend either of these meetings, please put your thoughts in writing and send an email to the mayor and council members at MayorandCityCouncil@beverlyhills.org

 

[zoiDman]

Bump.

 

[sdennislee]

I hope this soundly defeated by the people of California as it has implications for all of us. Having said that it's hard to have sympathy for those in California on topics like this, they seem to bring much of this type of policy making on themselves.

I wonder how many of those in San Fransisco who are now forced to vape unflavored eliquid help to drive the last gun shop out of California either directly or indirectly by not opposing it.

Asinine policies regardless of the topic must be opposed and opposed loudly.

I'll leave you with this short poem by Martin Niemöller to ponder

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.