Legislation (SB 3174) that would ban the sale of electronic cigarettes in Illinois is scheduled to be considered by the IL House Human Services Committee this morning (Wednesday, April 14). Please contact committee members NOW (contact information, and the Midwest Vapers Group press release and letter are below).
Illinois House Human Service Committee
Representative Naomi D. Jakobsson, Chair
Illinois House Human Services Committee
257-S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
217-558-1009
FAX 217-557-7680
naomi@naomijakobsson.com
Representative Patricia R. Bellock
Illinois House Human Services Committee
227-N Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
217-782-1448
FAX 217-782-2289
rep@pbellock.com
Representative Constance A. Howard
Illinois House Human Services Committee
270-S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
217-782-6476
FAX 217-782-0952
howardca@ilga.gov
Represenative Sandy Cole
Illinois House Human Services Committee
208 N Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
217-782-7320
FAX 217-782-1275
representativesandycole@comcast.net
Representative Annazette Collins
Illinois House Human Services Committee
262-W Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
217-782-8077
FAX 217-557-7643
collinsar@ilga.gov
Representative Timothy L. Schmitz
Illinois House Human Services Committee
224-N Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
217-782-5457
FAX 217-782-1138
info@timschmitz.org
Representative Mary E. Flowers
Illinois House Human Services Committee
251-E Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
217-782-4207
FAX 217-782-1130
flowersme@ilga.gov
- - -
NEWS Release Tuesday, April 13, 2010
contact: Julie Woessner, JD
julie.woessner@gmail.com
919-698-7931
or
Patricia Clewell
srmosaics@earthlink.net
314-504-4022
Consumer Health Advocates Decry Proposed Ban of Electronic Cigarettes in Illinois
A group of Midwesterners who quit smoking by switching to electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have urged Illinois lawmakers to reject a proposal (SB 3174) to ban sales of these novel products they say saved their lives.
In letters to the Illinois House Human Services Committee, the Midwest Vapers Group explained how they and hundreds of thousands of others have stopped smoking cigarettes by switching to e-cigarettes (also called nicotine vaporizers), which look like cigarettes but emit no harmful smoke.
Julie Woessner, a member of the group and a retired attorney, said: “It makes no sense to keep cigarettes legal, while banning these far less hazardous smokefree alternatives. This bill would force thousands of Illinois adults to either go back to smoking, or to buy e-cigarettes from a newly created black market.”
The American Association of Public Health Physicians has stated that electronic cigarettes “could save the lives of 4 million of the 8 million current adult American smokers who will otherwise die of a tobacco-related illness over the next 20 years."
Dr. Michael Siegel, professor at Boston University School of Public Health and a longtime anti-smoking advocate, posted on his blog about the IL bill sponsored by Sen. Mattie Hunter’s proposal: “To take electronic cigarettes off the market is to deny smokers a much safer alternative that is likely saving lives and improving the public health.” “That such a bill was sponsored by the vice-chair of the legislature’s Public Health Committee suggests that she simply has not taken the time to properly study the issue of electronic cigarettes,” wrote Siegel.
Another member of the Midwest Vapers Group, Patricia Clewell, said: “The solution is to amend the bill to ban e-cigarette sales to minors, just like other tobacco products. Depriving adult smokers of less hazardous alternatives is cruel and unusual punishment, and it protects the cigarette industry.”
The group is going to Springfield tomorrow to talk with lawmakers, who are considering the legislation.
# # #
Midwest Vapers Group
416 Clark Avenue • St. Louis, MO 63119 • (314) 504-4022
Info@MidwestVapersGroup.org
April 6, 2010
Representative Naomi D. Jakobsson
Human Services Committee
257-S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
Re: Opposition to SB3174 (Tobacco Accessories) bill to ban electronic cigarettes
Dear Representative Jakobsson:
We strongly urge you to oppose SB 3174 as currently drafted. Instead of benefiting the public health, this bill would force many of our members (and thousands of others) to return to smoking cigarettes or to travel across state lines to buy electronic cigarettes from a newly created illicit market.
Midwest Vapers Group is a consumer-advocacy group comprised entirely of volunteers to support “vapers” (people who use electronic cigarettes) and to inform the public, health professionals, and legislators about the device. We are concerned consumers, and we are not affiliated with any e-cigarette business. Our members and the tens of thousands of Illinois consumers we represent have recently quit smoking or have sharply reduced cigarette consumption by switching to smoke-free electronic cigarettes.
Recently referred to the Human Services Committee, SB 3174 would ban the sale of electronic cigarettes in Illinois. While we strongly support banning the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors (as no tobacco product should be marketed to children), adult tobacco consumers have a right to buy less hazardous alternatives to cigarettes. As such, we urge you to amend SB 3174 to only ban e-cigarette sales to minors.
Similar bills were recently proposed and defeated in California, Utah, and Maryland. As of this writing, no state has banned the sale of electronic cigarettes (or any other tobacco product) to adult consumers. In January, a federal judge ruled that the FDA cannot classify e-cigarettes as drugs or devices, but rather can only regulate them as tobacco products. Thus, any state law is premature and would cause litigation. SB 3174 also would impose unnecessary costs on Illinois taxpayers for enforcement and adjudication.
Leading public health experts, such as the American Association of Public Health Physicians, and anti-smoking advocates, such as Smokefree Pennsylvania, are strong proponents of the electronic cigarette as a far less hazardous alternative to smoking. Simply stated, electronic cigarettes pose no known harm to users or bystanders.
We would like to arrange a meeting with you at your earliest convenience to discuss this matter further, provide more information (attached is a Fact Sheet), and answer any questions you may have.
Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to meeting with you soon.
Sincerely,
Patricia Clewell and Julie Woessner
Midwest Vapers Group
