For Immediate Release
Smoke-Free Advocates Urge NY Legislature to Keep Electronic Cigarette Sales Legal
A nationwide group of smokers who switched to smokefree tobacco/nicotine alternatives has urged New York lawmakers to reject legislation that would ban the sale of electronic cigarettes in the state. Sales of electronic cigarettes (AKA e-cigarettes or nicotine vaporizers) have skyrocketed in the past two years, with an estimated 300,000 - 500,000 cigarette smokers in the US (including tens of thousands in NY) switching to the novel products that look and feel like a cigarette, but emit no harmful smoke.
In letters sent to the NYS Assembly and Senate Health Committee, the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives (http://www.casaa.org/) denounced the legislation (A9529 & S7234) because it would harm or kill electronic cigarette consumers in New York who go back to smoking cigarettes, and would create a black market for e-cigarettes that would be difficult and costly to enforce.
CASAA's legal director Yolanda Villa, who lives in Rochester, NY, said "This legislation would deny New Yorkers legal access to smokefree alternatives that have helped me and hundreds of thousands of other long-term adult smokers quit smoking, while deadly combustible cigarettes remain freely and legally available throughout the state." "It's outrageous that some lawmakers believe our health and lives are expendable," added Villa.
Electronic cigarettes are nicotine vaporizers that, when inhaled, emit a tiny amount of nicotine and propylene glycol, in a harmless vapor resembling smoke.
CASAA's medical director Theresa Whitt, MD, said "Nicotine vaporizers don't emit any smoke, which is what causes 99% of tobacco related disease and deaths. There is no evidence that anyone has ever been harmed by these smokefree alternatives, and they are clearly far less hazardous than smoking cigarettes." Dr. Whitt also quit smoking by switching to e-cigarettes.
The group's letter urged lawmakers to amend the legislation to only ban e-cigarette sales to minors. "Although there is no evidence that e-cigarettes are marketed to youth, we support banning their sales to minors just like all other tobacco products," added Dr. Whitt.
CASAA was created last year by smokefree tobacco/nicotine consumers concerned about false allegations made by drug company funded anti-tobacco groups that seek to ban e-cigarettes, and that provide lawmakers with misinformation about the products in their attempts to do so.
Smoke-Free Advocates Urge NY Legislature to Keep Electronic Cigarette Sales Legal
A nationwide group of smokers who switched to smokefree tobacco/nicotine alternatives has urged New York lawmakers to reject legislation that would ban the sale of electronic cigarettes in the state. Sales of electronic cigarettes (AKA e-cigarettes or nicotine vaporizers) have skyrocketed in the past two years, with an estimated 300,000 - 500,000 cigarette smokers in the US (including tens of thousands in NY) switching to the novel products that look and feel like a cigarette, but emit no harmful smoke.
In letters sent to the NYS Assembly and Senate Health Committee, the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives (http://www.casaa.org/) denounced the legislation (A9529 & S7234) because it would harm or kill electronic cigarette consumers in New York who go back to smoking cigarettes, and would create a black market for e-cigarettes that would be difficult and costly to enforce.
CASAA's legal director Yolanda Villa, who lives in Rochester, NY, said "This legislation would deny New Yorkers legal access to smokefree alternatives that have helped me and hundreds of thousands of other long-term adult smokers quit smoking, while deadly combustible cigarettes remain freely and legally available throughout the state." "It's outrageous that some lawmakers believe our health and lives are expendable," added Villa.
Electronic cigarettes are nicotine vaporizers that, when inhaled, emit a tiny amount of nicotine and propylene glycol, in a harmless vapor resembling smoke.
CASAA's medical director Theresa Whitt, MD, said "Nicotine vaporizers don't emit any smoke, which is what causes 99% of tobacco related disease and deaths. There is no evidence that anyone has ever been harmed by these smokefree alternatives, and they are clearly far less hazardous than smoking cigarettes." Dr. Whitt also quit smoking by switching to e-cigarettes.
The group's letter urged lawmakers to amend the legislation to only ban e-cigarette sales to minors. "Although there is no evidence that e-cigarettes are marketed to youth, we support banning their sales to minors just like all other tobacco products," added Dr. Whitt.
CASAA was created last year by smokefree tobacco/nicotine consumers concerned about false allegations made by drug company funded anti-tobacco groups that seek to ban e-cigarettes, and that provide lawmakers with misinformation about the products in their attempts to do so.
