NYC Council Hearing Thursday May 2nd - Help speak out for the vaping community!

[klhsu]

NYC and surrounding area vapers, if you are available Thursday May 2nd, please show up at 250 Broadway - across the street from City Hall Park. There should be a big group of vapers meeting up at NOON. I believe the hearing starts at 12:30 and if you miss the meet up at NOON, the Committee Room is on the 16th floor.


We want to stop this legislation that would treat ecigs as tobacco and ban flavored liquids. This would impact taxes on eliquid sold in NYC and also create a huge barrier for entry into the market for other B&Ms to open up shop.


The local B&M VapeNY will be there to show their opposition, as well as many of the local vaping community. The more people that show up the better! Please bring identification if possible. It may be needed to sign into the building.

 

[Placebo Effect]

I'll be there.

Don't spend a lot of time of your speech (which will probably be capped at 2-3 minutes) talking about how e-cigarettes helped you quit smoking UNLESS you specifically connect it to how flavored e-cigarettes allowed you to kill your taste for menthol or tobacco.

 

[JustJulie]

The hearing is now live: http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/Webcasts/Default.aspx?From=InSite&LocationID=4

 

[boshans]

did they talk about the flavorings of eliquid yet? just started listening now.

 

[boshans]

what the hell did they mean this bill wasnt written about ecigs?

 

[JustJulie]

They were informed well beforehand that there was a serious problem with the definition of "tobacco products"--actually, it's pretty much the same definition that the FDA is using to assert its jurisdiction over e-cigarettes as a tobacco product.

Despite knowing about it beforehand, they've made no attempt to fix the definition. So while it's nice to hear them say it wasn't their intent to include e-cigarettes, it doesn't mean much of anything unless and until that definition is fixed.

 

[thewrightstuff]

wow....watching this hearing, and one of the speakers asked whether an ecigarette is a "gateway to using tobacco"...

 

[boshans]

jesus that guy that stutters is an idiot...there HAS been science done about ecigs...and the main speaker saying that no one knows what is in ecigs....YES WE DO KNOW WHAT IS IN IT!!! .......n i cant stand watching this stupid crap. there is science, lots of it, but they dont give a crap to go find it.

 

[thewrightstuff]

I am watching to see if some of my local friends get a chance to speak for their 2 minutes.

 

[thewrightstuff]

As an ex smoker (PAD 20+ years), who has lived and worked in NYC most of my career, this whole thing sickens me. If they had not taxed analogs so high in new york city, as part of their whole "police state" strategy, there would not have been such a problem with "black market" cigarettes. When this whole thing first started, and the price went from in the 6's to 9's pretty much overnight, retailers in smaller stores realized that they could still buy them for 5 bucks a pack from the reservations or out of state and then sell them for a dollar or two less than the taxed rate and still make a lot of $$$. This made it easier economically for the smokers because they were still saving a few dollars a pack!

 

[thewrightstuff]

Nice to see the council leaving before the public speaks.

 

[boshans]

Nice to see the council leaving before the public speaks.

i know right..."we don't give a .... what the public thinks....were going to use our non understanding of everything and not care about science to make our decisions, to bad"

 

[thewrightstuff]

If the councol members, who are the ones who write the bill and vote on it, have left, what is the good in the public giving testimony? Also, giving the "pro" side to the bill first dibs with a woman who had multiple amputations, the head of the MSKCC, and the head of "smoke free kids" gives it more relevance.

There really has not been much time or effort given to ecigarettes.

 

[boshans]

at least the guy speaking now, the one that was talking about how hiding cigs is dumb and everyone will put wood panels, is normal, he makes the most sense out of anyone so far.

 

[thewrightstuff]

I am all about keeping cigarettes from the kids....and as a former smoker, believe me, I know all about the hazards.

Now, on to ecigs !!! come on !!!

 

[boshans]

anyone speaking for ecigs or no?

 

[thewrightstuff]

According to twitter, they are up soon!!

FluidVaper, AvidVaper, and VapeNY are there, not sure if they are speaking, but I know that they are there.

 

[thewrightstuff]

Greg Conley is speaking about Ecigarettes right now....he is very well-spoken. CASAA rep

 

[boshans]

i dont think this women should be talking about how you lower your nicotine to not have any....she is acting like everyone does that and that is not a good thing, because that goes back to people wanting ecigs to be defined as medical devices.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Greg Conley did an excellent job testifying, and responding to council inquiries and comments.

So did the female vaper testifying two folks after Greg.

Comments by the Chair and another councilman about e-cigarettes not being included in the legislation are very helpful.