NEW YORKERS - PLEASE MEET With Your Senator!

[yvilla]

Most people probably saw posts about the Albany trip Jason, Spikey and I did last week, but I wanted to follow up specifically with the request that all New Yorkers consider setting up face-to-face meeting with your own NYS Senator (whether on the Health Committee or not), in their district offices. Those offices should be relatively close to where you reside. The Senators are all in their district offices on Thursdays and Fridays (although they may be doing special/extra sessions in Albany right now because of the budget).

It was really apparent from our many meetings last week that the Senators and their staff know nothing about the electronic cigarette, and most don’t even understand the actual effect of the bill they will be asked to vote on. Also, we were explicitly told that actual meetings will have much more impact than even mailed letters and phone calls.

So if you can meet with your Senator, bring your ecigs and liquid to show and explain how they function, and bring the most important of the letters, documents and studies that are available to contradict what they are being told by the bill proponents (the ALA, ACS, etc), that would be excellent.

If anyone needs pointers to what to bring to such meetings, please just just contact me, and I can send you links and/or the actual documents in pdf or doc form to print out and take along with you to your meetings.

Also, we are still looking to find out if anyone will be invited/allowed to speak at an upcoming Health Committee meeting when the bill is on the agenda, or if we can get a public hearing. Will of course post more on this when more is known.

 

[v1John]

Should you really bring liquids? Or are they safer left at home. I fill enough cartos when I go places, and have the supplier ecigarette case to carry them in.

 

[yvilla]

Yes.

We showed 3 or 4 very different kinds of ecigs, and several different kinds of bottles of liquid everywhere we went last week. We talked about things like varying nicotine concentration percentages, child-safe packaging, and ingredient and warning labeling, and made the point that if they banned sales, they would only be encouraging the potentially more dangerous blackmarket kinds of sales, those without proper labeling and packaging.

 

[v1John]

Ok, yes, bring proper packaging too, my supplier has cases thinner than a pack of cigarettes so I can carry my batteries and cartos. I'm just amazed when people say they carry cartos in their pocket and things like that.

Ok.

 

[Vocalek]

Just found these stats (thanks to tip from Posidon) on the CDC Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_sta...ate_highlights/2010/states/new_york/index.htm

In New York, 16.8% of the adult population (ages 18+) — over 2,531,000 individuals — are current cigarette smokers. Across all states, the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults ranges from 9.3% to 26.5%. New York ranks 14th among the states.

 

[Posidon]

Here's some more information that I found.

"Smoking-related Medicaid costs vary widely by state. In 2004, for example, these costs ranged from $40 million in Wyoming to $3.3 billion in the state of New York."

"The direct medical costs and lost productivity of smoking is an estimated $10.47 per pack of cigarettes, while the average U.S. retail price of a pack of cigarettes was $4.35 in 2008"

I found it here in an article about Medicaid.
Medicaid Increasing Coverage of Aids For tobacco Cessation
Medicaid Increasing Coverage of Aids For Tobacco Cessation NCI Benchmarks

 

[v1John]

That's really amazing, 3.3 BILLION just for smokig-related, and only in New York
and in 2004, six years before medical costs went up by double digit percentage per year ?

 

[v1John]

Just found these stats (thanks to tip from Posidon) on the CDC Web site: Smoking and Tobacco Use :: State Data :: 2010 State Highlights: New York :: Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) :: CDC

In New York, 16.8% of the adult population (ages 18+) — over 2,531,000 individuals — are current cigarette smokers...

Food for thought: If only 1% of New York adult smokers signed the petition tomorrow, our petition would be increased by a whopping 25,310 signatures tomorrow !!!

...just one smoker, out of every 100 NY adult smokers!

 

[pbusardo]

"Also, we were explicitly told that actual meetings will have much more impact than even mailed letters and phone calls."

Of course. For the same reason some companies prefer mail in rebates to sales. People don't act. People are lazy. People are busy.

Be realistic, I've seen sites with hundreds if not thousands of posting about how this ban will negatively impact our lives. What percentage of that thousand do you really think will set up a face to face meetings?

A phone call or a letter should still be considered as "the voice of the people".

They are setting you up for failure.

Sorry to be the cynic.

 

[Drozd]

Here's some other info that might be helpful somewhat:

tobacco Settlement

Tobacco Control Appropriations

New York allocated $55,175,000 for tobacco prevention and cessation programs in FY2010 (April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010) from the state general fund. In FY2009, $80,400,000 was allocated.

FY2010 Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Annual Budget (A.B. 154) enacted and effective 4/7/09.
Note: New York originally appropriated a little over $68 million for tobacco prevention and cessation programs in FY2010, but this figure was reduced to $55.2 million because of budget cuts.

So of course the ALA, ACS, AHA, Campaign for tobacco free kids, etc want them banned...who runs the smoking cessasion classes and workshops, and help lines? So who's getting that $55.2 million in NY?....and that money comes from tobacco revenues..

now this might not be the most popular slant to take but:

Tobacco Excise Tax
Cigarettes
Tax rate per pack of 20: $2.75
Date last changed: June 3, 2008 -- from $1.50 to $2.75
Year first enacted: 1939
N.Y. [TAX] LAW § 471 (2008).

Cigarette tax revenue is distributed in accordance with section 171-a of New York Tax law, except 70.63 percent is distributed to the tobacco control and insurance initiatives pool, which is spent in accordance with section 2807-v of New York Public Health law.
N.Y. [TAX] LAW § 482 (2009).

Other Tobacco Products
Snuff: 96 cents/oz. and a proportionate rate on fractional parts of an ounce;
All other tobacco products: 46% of the wholesale price
N.Y. [TAX] LAW § 471 & 471-b (2009).

Revenue Collected
$958,466,000

so they could either ban and things would go black market (no money, and less regulation and safety)...or they could possibly tax along the lines of all other tobacco products: (so if the wholesale cost of a starter kit is around $15 that's $6.90 in tax plus whatever 46% of the wholesale liquid cost is for refills...(compared to the $2.75 per pack of cigs)