CASAA urges Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee to sign e-cigarette legislation

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tobacco control industry groups in Rhode Island are encouraging the Governor to VETO a simple bill to ban e-cigarette sales to minors. Why? Because the bill doesn't tax e-cigarettes and it doesn't ban flavors.

CASAA is asking our members to please contact RI Governor Lincoln Chafee at (401) 222-2080 or governor@governor.ri.gov and ask him to SUPPORT SB 622 by signing it into law.

Dear Governor Chafee:

On behalf of the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA), I am writing to encourage you to sign SB 622 into law [1]. CASAA strongly supports banning sales of vapor products (commonly referred to as electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes) to minors. Enactment of SB 622 would ensure that youth would not have legal access to these devices, and therefore CASAA fully supports the bill [2].

Approximately 20 states have wisely passed bills to ban sales of e-cigarettes. In the vast majority of cases, these bills have been non-controversial and widely supported by public health groups and e-cigarette consumers and businesses. Much to our surprise, CASAA is aware that the Rhode Island tobacco Control Network, as well as the local branch of the American Cancer Society (ACS), has opposed Rhode Island enacting any bill to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.

Dr. Michael Siegel, a public health professor at the Boston University School of Public Health with over 25 years of experience in tobacco control, was similarly puzzled as to why some public health groups were opposing SB 622.

So let's get this straight. We need to wait before we protect youth from electronic cigarettes. We have to wait before we ban the sale of these products to minors. The ACS, in other words, wants - for the time-being - for electronic cigarettes to remain freely available to youth. [3]
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It is unfortunate that some organizations oppose this obviously sensible measure that nearly everyone involved with both consumer advocacy and public health supports. No governor has ever vetoed such a bill before. We are aware of no genuine arguments in favor of the veto that has been encouraged by the the bill's opponents. Thus, we urge you to sign this sensible public health and consumer protection measure into law.

Sincerely,

Gregory J. Conley, J.D. / M.B.A.
Legislative Director -- Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association

[1] CASAA is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization with a grassroots membership of approximately 5,000 individuals from all walks of life. CASAA is dedicated to ensuring the availability of reduced harm alternatives to smoking and to providing smokers and non-smokers alike with honest information about those alternatives. Since its founding in 2009, CASAA has educated the public and increased awareness about the benefits of reduced harm alternatives to smoking. CASAA also encourages responsible legislative policy designed to improve public health by recognizing that smoke-free tobacco- and nicotine-containing products are inherently far less dangerous than smoking.


[2] CASAA also supports the HB 5876, the House companion bill to SB 622.

[3] “American Cancer Society Opposes Banning Electronic Cigarettes to Minors.” May 22, 2013. <http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/american-cancer-society-opposes-banning.html>

For more info

Antismoking groups push for veto of R.I. e-cigarette legislation | Breaking News | providencejournal.com | The Providence Journal - The Providence Journal

A good article, although it falsely claims that 9 states tax e-cigarettes.

http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/american-cancer-society-opposes-banning.html
Why do the American Cancer Society et al. oppose regulations to prevent kids from using e-cigarettes? | Anti-THR Lies and related topics

 

[Littlewing]

Un-bleep-ing believable. This is disgusting.

 

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Littlewing, please make sure you e-mail and call Governor Chafee and encourage him to sign SB 622.

Dr. Siegel takes on the issue in today's blog -- http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/07/rhode-island-anti-smoking-groups.html