Letter to AK Gov Parnell urging him to veto HB 224 due to unintended consequences

[Bill Godshall]

I sent the following letter to Alaska's governor, his legislative staff, and HB 224 sponsor Rep Paul Seaton.

From: Bill Godshall
To: Sean Parnell
Cc: Paul Seaton ; Heather Brakes ; Sonia Christensen
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 3:51 PM
Subject: Please veto HB 224 due to unintended consequences


The Honorable Sean Parnell
Governor of Alaska
PO Box 110001
Juneau, AK 99811-0001

Dear Governor Parnell:

Please veto HB 224 Bill History/Action for 27th Legislature because it would prohibit parents and everyone else in Alaska from feeding any child eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, cauliflower, green pepper, teas, herbs and spices, would prohibit grocers and restaurateurs from selling those products to any minor, and would subject violators to a $300 fine for each violation.

Although e-cigarette companies and most public health advocates strongly support the apparent purpose of HB 224 (i.e. to ban the sale or gift of a nicotine containing electronic cigarette to a minor), the previously cited food products also contain nicotine, and as such, also would be negatively impacted by the legislation. For reference, please see the following.

The Nicotine Content of Common Vegetables
MMS: Error
Dietary Contributions to Nicotine Body Burden
Abstract from 1995 SRA Annual Meeting
European Food Safety Authority proposes limits on nicotine in teas, herbs and spices
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/doc/2098.pdf

About ten states have banned the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors, but none of those laws ban the sale or gift of food products containing nicotine to a minor. HB 224 should be vetoed, and redrafted by interested legislators to exclude the sale or gift of food products containing nicotine.

Existing evidence indicates that e-cigarettes (which emit vaporized nicotine) are about 99% less hazardous than cigarettes, pose no risks to nonusers, have helped about a million smokers quit smoking, and have helped several million other smokers significantly reduce cigarette consumption. While there is no evidence that minors use e-cigarettes, no evidence e-cigarettes are marketed to minors, and no evidence e-cigarettes can create nicotine dependence, e-cigarette companies and most public health advocates support state laws that ban the sale or gift of the products to minors.

For more information, please contact me any time.

Sincerely,


William T. Godshall, MPH
Executive Director
Smokefree Pennsylvania
1926 Monongahela Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
412-351-5880
FAX 412-351-5881
smokefree@compuserve.com

 

[DC2]

William, or Bill if I may... thank you for all you do.

 

[NorthOfAtlanta]

Thank You for all you do Bill.

 

[moishesmom]

I love this! Thank you Bill for all your time & effort.

 

[rothenbj]

You knows Bill, I don't even like legislation such as this penalizing the gifting of E Cigs, unless it excludes parents. If I had a child smoking, I'd do everything possible to get them to use a PV rather than continuing to smoke.

 

[BoiseMike]

There is an exception for parent or legal guardian.
This part cracks me up, "(d) In this section, "product containing nicotine" does not include a cigarette, a cigar, tobacco, or a product containing tobacco."
I guess they're trying to aim at PVs without saying so.

Thanks for all your work, Bill.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Boise Mike wrote

There is an exception for parent or legal guardian.

But the exception (for parent or legal guardian) only applies to FDA approved smoking cessation products and harm reduction products. And of course there is no such thing as an FDA approved harm reduction product, nor does the FSPTCA authorize the FDA to classify any tobacco product as a harm reduction product (only an MRTP, which wouldn't apply).

Despite the Governor ignoring my letter, I appreciate all the kudos. If I had more time last week, I would have forwarded my letter to Governor Parnell to various news media in Alaska, as the governor would have been more likely to veto the bill if a news story had exposed the bill with a headline like "Bill would ban parents from feeding children eggplants, tomotoes, potatoes and green peppers."

 

[DC2]

If I had more time last week...

So basically, cloning is the solution we are looking for here?

 

[BoiseMike]

I stand corrected. I don't speak legalese. I don't know where the "and" and "or" go reading through this garbage.
I also don't see the people of AK standing for this kind of invasion into their private lives. But maybe they're becoming more like the rest of the country, which would be sad.