Massachusetts bill would ban e-cig sales to minors AND ban e-cigarette use wherever smoking is banned

[soba1]

So can we get names etc of the Mass state officials to start flooding them with emails tweets etc.

 

[soba1]

State by state we must stay vigilant

 

[szot]

Massachusetts State Congress members with their phone and email addys...source is https://malegislature.gov/ that lists bills, laws, events, people, etc..



State Senators.... https://malegislature.gov/People/Senate


State House of Representatives.... https://malegislature.gov/People/House

 

[Bill Godshall]

If the online poll at the Boston Herald is any indication, far more people oppose than support Sanchez' bill.
State bill would tamp down e-cigs | Boston Herald

soba1 inquired:

So can we get names etc of the Mass state officials to start flooding them with emails tweets etc.

The bill hasn't been numbered or assigned to a committee yet.
But I won't be surprised if its referred to the Committee Chaired by Sanchez.

 

[cool breeze]

The Boston Herald editorialized today against the proposed e-cig ban:

Nanny-staters are back

When government regulators find themselves in a “banning” sort of mood — around here, that’s pretty much 24/7 — they rarely let evidence get in their way. And so it goes with a proposed ban on electronic cigarettes, despite an absence of scientific evidence that they cause any more health problems than regular cigarettes.

“There’s very little research on these products,” said Margaret Reid, who serves on the Boston Public Health Commission.

Well, hey — why not ban them, then, just in case!

Forty-two Bay State cities and towns have already banned the use of e-cigarettes, which vaporize nicotine but contain no tobacco, in public places.

Meanwhile a bill before the Legislature would ban the use of e-cigarettes in all locations where the ban on regular ciggies is in place — effectively, in all bars, restaurants and other workplaces — and bans the distribution of free samples.

[some of the editorial omitted for Fair Use Doctrine protection. Read the whole thing at the link above.]

Others — like, say, scientists — take a different view.

“Right now, we simply don’t have scientific evidence showing second-hand exposure to vapor in electronic cigarettes is harmful,” said Michael Siegel, a Boston University public health professor. “We don’t want to indiscriminately start banning everything out of pure speculation.”

Well, he may not want to. But “indiscriminately ... banning everything out of pure speculation” is a sine qua non for success in Massachusetts politics.

 

[szot]

cool breeze...That link above does not work...

 

[DC2]

Ever hear of the "camel's nose under the edge of the tent?"
The Camel's Nose In The Tent !

Wisdom comes from all peoples and all cultures.
And we ignore it at our peril.

 

[DC2]

I'm one of the rare people who would not be overly offended by only being able to vape where people are allowed to smoke cigarettes. (Hell, it's better than a ban, right?)

Ouch.

Better than a ban? Maybe.
Stepping stone to a ban? You better believe it.

Camel's nose, frog in boiling water.

 

[DC2]

Another release by the Boston Herald today....vote NO on poll question #4

Done.



------------

 

[Petrodus]

I'm one of the rare people who would not be overly offended by only being able to vape
where people are allowed to smoke cigarettes. (Hell, it's better than a ban, right?)

 

[szot]

The last place I want to be forced to go, is standing with a bunch of analog smokers and smell of burning tobacco cigarettes ...that's why I vape , to get away from analogs....if the government is going to force me to be with tobacco smokers then that's horse....!...Big Brother needs to chill and back off....we are not sheep and will not be forced to go someplace that I know is unhealthy with 2nd hand smoke and a place I want no part of...that is crossing the line...since vaping has no proven bad 2nd hand affects, then the government has no right to regulate it in any manner..

 

[cool breeze]

cool breeze...That link above does not work...

Just tested the link again. Works here. If anyone else is having a problem with the link, please post and I will try to fix it.

 

[szot]

Tried on 2 computers here...still a no go....but every other link here works fine on both..

 

[szot]

CASAA: Call to Action! Massachusetts E-Cigarette Usage Ban -- HB 3639

Call to Action! Massachusetts E-Cigarette Usage Ban -- HB 3639

" Massachusetts: Bill Would Ban E-Cigarette Sales to Minors, But Also Add E-Cigarettes to State's "Smoking" Ban -- HB 3639

UPDATE (9/30/2013): The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health will meet to discuss HB 3639 tomorrow, October 1st, at 10 A.M. at the Massachusetts State House (24 Beacon Street in Boston, MA). CASAA is requesting that vapers attend and speak. If you are planning on attending, please contact us at board@casaa.org.

If enacted, this bill would:
Ban e-cigarette sales to minors, but would also...

Ban the use of e-cigarettes in virtually all workplaces in Massachusetts
Ban e-cigarette use in e-cigarette stores unless a vendor obtains a tobacco license

What to say:
1. You support banning the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, but would like them to vote NO on HB 3639 unless the ban on e-cigarette usage in public places is removed. "

 

[The Dingo]

I just sent an email to all that are listed on CASAA's Call to Action page.
I received several automated replies confirming that the email went through and that my message would be read.

Thanks for posting this update, szot.

 

[szot]

I also sent an email letter to all the Mass state reps on the list and state committee for Public health and never got any automated replies...lol...I hate Outlook, since Hotmail went dixie...won't even let me send an attachment...but I know my emails work..least we'll be heard., and hopefully others will contact these state reps and voice their opinions..

 

[szot]

Never heard 1 word from any state rep or anybody from this state Public Health Board members or CASAA, about the outcome of this Oct 1 hearing..would be nice to know how things went..even google provides no new info and neither does CASAA home page

 

[ennagizer]

This was published yesterday. Not much and doesn't state anything not already known.

Mass. bill would tighten rules for e-cigarettes
boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/10/01/mass-bill-would-tighten-rules-for-cigarettes/N0VJpIViLnW4SAovXIrwnO/story.html

BOSTON (AP) — Attorney General Martha Coakley and a group representing Massachusetts physicians urged lawmakers on Tuesday to regulate the sale and use of electronic cigarettes.

The bill would prohibit the sale of nicotine delivery systems, including e-cigarettes, to children under 18. The measure would also prevent e-cigarettes from being used on school property or any other location where smoking is currently not allowed.

The metal or plastic battery-powered devices resemble traditional cigarettes but heat a liquid nicotine solution, creating vapor that users inhale. Users get nicotine without the chemicals, tar or odor of regular cigarettes.

Coakley told a hearing of the Legislature’s public health committee that makers of e-cigarettes have become increasingly aggressive in marketing the products to children.

‘‘Many of the brands include fruit or candy flavors and manufacturers often use cartoon imagery to sell their products,’’ she said.

The bill was initially sponsored by state Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, D-Boston, the House chair of the panel, who said that while Massachusetts is a national leader in tobacco prevention efforts, state law is ‘‘silent’’ on the handling of electronic cigarettes.

Dr. Louis Fazen, chair of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s public health committee, said that while e-cigarettes are often viewed as being less dangerous than conventional cigarettes, the organization considers them ‘‘a gateway product to tobacco abuse and nicotine addiction,’’ and supports restrictions similar to those placed on cigarettes.

The Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, an industry group, has said in the past that it agrees that e-cigarettes should be subject to regulation but objects to what it sees as false information about the safety devices or its marketing tactics.

Coakley, a Democratic candidate for governor, recently joined with dozens of other attorneys general in asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to place federal regulations on electronic cigarettes. On Tuesday, Coakley expressed doubt the FDA would be able to meet its own Oct. 31 deadline for issuing proposed rules, given the partial shutdown of the federal government.

 

[ennagizer]

Does anyone know about The Risk Analysis Division of the National Center for Public Policy Research? Seems they wrote a nice letter to members of the committee:
Massachusetts Considers Ban on E-Cigarettes in Public Places - Amy Ridenour's National Center Blog - A Conservative Blog

Massachusetts Considers Ban on E-Cigarettes in Public Places

Oct 1, 2013 at 2:56 PM
Jeff Stier in Regulatory Victims, Risk Analysis, e-cigarettes, smokeless, smoking, smoking cessation, tobacco

Nanny-State Legislators seem like they are trying to one-up each other. Today, the Joint Health Committee of both legislative houses in Massachusetts are deliberating H.B. 3639, a bill that would, among other things, ban the use of e-cigarettes in, workplaces, work spaces, common work areas, classrooms, conference and meeting rooms, offices, elevators, hallways, medical facilities, cafeterias, employee lounges, staircases, restrooms, restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, food courts or concessions, supermarkets or retail food outlets, bars, taverns or in a place where food or drink is sold to the public and consumed on the premise as part of a business required to collect state meals tax on the purchase, trains, airplanes, theatres, concert halls, exhibition halls, convention centers, auditoriums, arenas, stadiums open to the public, schools, colleges, universities, museums, libraries, health care facilities, group child care centers, school age child care centers, family child care centers, school age day or overnight camp buildings, in or upon any public transportation conveyance, airports, train stations, bus stations, transportation passenger terminals or enclosed outdoor platforms.

The Risk Analysis Division of the National Center for Public Policy Research today shared our view on the issue, in the form of a letter to members of the committee.

In part, the letter states,

The provision of the legislation which would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to those under 18 is a sensible approach that would prevent youth from legally using nicotine products.

However, other provisions of the bill will not only fail to help keep minors from using tobacco, they could undermine the state’s goal of reducing the number of people who smoke cigarettes. In particular, the widespread ban on the use of e-cigarettes in public places will have the unintended consequence of keeping cigarettes the tobacco product of choice in the state. Cigarettes are by far the most dangerous for of tobacco use.

A ban on E-cigarette in public places is not grounded in the same logic that supports bans on smoking cigarettes in public places, namely exposure to harmful second-hand smoke. In fact, there’s no smoke, first or second-hand, from e-cigarettes.

Cigarette smokers around the world who until now have been unable to quit their deadly habit, are quitting smoking by substituting e-cigarettes for cigarettes.

For all the heated rhetoric, there’s little dispute in the scientific community: those who quit smoking cigarettes and switch to e-cigarettes reap immediate as well as long-term health benefits. And those improvements are dramatic.

After all, the nicotine, present in both cigarettes and many e-cigarettes, is addictive, but not particularly harmful. The danger comes from burning and inhaling tobacco, which is done with cigarettes but not e-cigarettes.

Nicotine’s bad reputation should be attributed to its most common delivery device, cigarettes. Nicotine itself is about as dangerous as the caffeine in soda. Along the same lines, while too much soda can cause weight gain, nobody seriously suggests that caffeine causes obesity. Similarly, e-cigarettes provide the nicotine and the habitual activity of smoking, without the danger of burning tobacco.

Some have recently suggested that acceptance of e-cigarettes would lead to increased smoking rates, by attracting new users, who would then “graduate” to actual cigarettes. The notion that e-cigarettes are a widespread gateway to cigarette smoking is not supported by anecdotal evidence, or any study that has looked at the matter carefully.

By banning the use of e-cigarettes in public places, the state would send the wrong message about the benefits of quitting smoking and using e-cigarettes instead.

Article originally appeared on A Conservative Blog (Amy Ridenour's National Center Blog - A Conservative Blog).
See website for complete article licensing information.

 

[szot]

Then fine....ban the sale to minors..but leave public vaping alone....