I wrote this as my comment on popvox.com:
I oppose S. 1403: IDEA Full Funding Act because it is not written in a way that keeps smoking cessation devices, such as e-cigarettes, from being taxed. These devices have effectively helped me quit smoking, along with several other family members and close friends. These devices need to be protected against taxation to encourage people to use them as an alternative to smoking. These devices are extremely safe for the users, and, in my experience, much less addicting than traditional cigarettes.
Reply from Senator Corker:
Thank you for taking the time to contact my office about raising and expanding the federal excise tax on tobacco and tobacco-related products. Your input is important to me, and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.
I agree with you that raising the federal excise tax on tobacco is an imperfect way to fund government programs. As you may know, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides important funding to schools so that they can provide for special needs children. I recognize the importance of funding for IDEA, and I understand the positive effects this program has on many students' lives. As we consider this legislation going forward, I assure you that I will be working with my Senate colleagues to seek alternative revenue sources as needed that are more stable and equitable. The insights you have provided here will certainly help my staff and I more effectively look into this issue.
Thank you again for your letter. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me as I serve you in the United States Senate.
Sincerely,
Bob Corker
United States Senator
I don't think he really read my initial message.
Reply to Senator Corker:
Senator Corker,
I think you misunderstood my concern and my reason for contacting you. My concern is not with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in itself, and I don't have a problem with raising taxes on tobacco products. However, I am concerned that the proposed addition to that act. This is of course the Saving Lives by Lowering Tobacco Use Act (S. 1403). This bill actually allows electronic cigarettes to be taxed equally to traditional tobacco products. Electronic cigarettes essentially atomise a liquid into a water vapour. The user breathes that vapour in, and receives small amounts of nicotine that help eliminate the cravings for tobacco products. The liquid is comprised of FDA approved ingredients with the exception of nicotine. Within the online and local electronic cigarette communities, most members give advice to others on using electronic cigarettes as a means to quit using tobacco products, and most users slowly wean themselves off of the nicotine over a period of time. These devices have helped me quit smoking, as well as many more people. Electronic cigarettes need to be protected from the tobacco tax laws to encourage people to switch to them from other tobacco products. There are a couple of specific parts of the proposed changes that need to be addressed to accomplish this:
DISCRETE SINGLE-USE UNIT- The term ‘discrete single-use unit’ means any product containing tobacco that--
‘(A) is intended or expected to be consumed without being combusted; and
‘(B) is in the form of a lozenge, tablet, pill, pouch, dissolvable strip, or other discrete single-use or single-dose unit.’
This section of the bill needs to be altered to specifically tax only discrete single-use snus, snuff, dip, etc. This needs to avoid electronic cigarettes all together. There could also be another addition to the bill that specifically prohibits electronic cigarettes from being taxed. S. 1403 also concerns me because of the this part of IDEA:
Other Tobacco Products- Any product not otherwise described under this section that has been determined to be a tobacco product by the Food and Drug Administration through its authorities under the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act shall be taxed at a level of tax equivalent to the tax rate for cigarettes on an estimated per use basis as determined by the Secretary.’.
In addition to this, the FDA has released the following in a press release:
"FDA is developing a strategy to regulate this emerging class of products (Electronic Cigarettes) as tobacco products under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act."
Electronic cigarettes have helped many people all around the country. Electronic Cigarettes are not a drug, because they are not created for the purpose of keeping people from using tobacco products, and they are not a tobacco product because they do not use any part of the tobacco plant (except nicotine that is derived from tobacco in some cases). It is a happy coincidence that people would rather quit smoking and start using an electronic cigarette. That is why the community classifies these devices as a "safer alternative to tobacco."
I can tell you one story of a member of the electronic cigarette community who was a smoker, and had stage 3 emphysema. He quit smoking and took up electronic cigarettes instead. His emphysema has now been reduced to stage 1. I can also tell you that the FDA has started a proverbial witch hunt against these devices. The FDA has tried to classify these devices as a drug so a person would have to go to their doctor to get a prescription for them. This would do nothing but raise prices and prevent the majority of people from using these devices. They also, without legal power to do so, have confiscated shipments of electronic cigarettes. They were sued over this and lost. I do not conduct business in the electronic cigarette industry, but I do use the product, and I find that it has helped me. Please assist CASAA and the electronic cigarette community by protecting these devices in this proposed bill (S.1403) and future bills.
Thank You,
Sources:
CASAA.org
FDA Files New Appeal on E-Cigarettes - WSJ.com
Electronic Cigarettes – FDA to Regulate Electronic Cigarettes, Also Called E-cigarettes, Like Regular Cigarettes
Read The Bill: S. 1403 - GovTrack.us
https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/s1403/report#nation
What I got back:
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:
senator@corker.senate.gov
Technical details of permanent failure:
Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 550 550 5.1.1 <senator@corker.senate.gov>... User unknown (state 14).
I don't think he likes getting e-mails...
I think we need to be proactive on fighting ecig bans and taxes. The FDA will not give up on trying to control this, and the government will want to tax this stuff like its tobacco. Just thought that you all might want to be informed of this.
Senator Corker's contact page is located here though https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactMe.
Here is the popvox poll if you haven't already voted: https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/s1403
I oppose S. 1403: IDEA Full Funding Act because it is not written in a way that keeps smoking cessation devices, such as e-cigarettes, from being taxed. These devices have effectively helped me quit smoking, along with several other family members and close friends. These devices need to be protected against taxation to encourage people to use them as an alternative to smoking. These devices are extremely safe for the users, and, in my experience, much less addicting than traditional cigarettes.
Reply from Senator Corker:
Thank you for taking the time to contact my office about raising and expanding the federal excise tax on tobacco and tobacco-related products. Your input is important to me, and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.
I agree with you that raising the federal excise tax on tobacco is an imperfect way to fund government programs. As you may know, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides important funding to schools so that they can provide for special needs children. I recognize the importance of funding for IDEA, and I understand the positive effects this program has on many students' lives. As we consider this legislation going forward, I assure you that I will be working with my Senate colleagues to seek alternative revenue sources as needed that are more stable and equitable. The insights you have provided here will certainly help my staff and I more effectively look into this issue.
Thank you again for your letter. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me as I serve you in the United States Senate.
Sincerely,
Bob Corker
United States Senator
I don't think he really read my initial message.
Reply to Senator Corker:
Senator Corker,
I think you misunderstood my concern and my reason for contacting you. My concern is not with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in itself, and I don't have a problem with raising taxes on tobacco products. However, I am concerned that the proposed addition to that act. This is of course the Saving Lives by Lowering Tobacco Use Act (S. 1403). This bill actually allows electronic cigarettes to be taxed equally to traditional tobacco products. Electronic cigarettes essentially atomise a liquid into a water vapour. The user breathes that vapour in, and receives small amounts of nicotine that help eliminate the cravings for tobacco products. The liquid is comprised of FDA approved ingredients with the exception of nicotine. Within the online and local electronic cigarette communities, most members give advice to others on using electronic cigarettes as a means to quit using tobacco products, and most users slowly wean themselves off of the nicotine over a period of time. These devices have helped me quit smoking, as well as many more people. Electronic cigarettes need to be protected from the tobacco tax laws to encourage people to switch to them from other tobacco products. There are a couple of specific parts of the proposed changes that need to be addressed to accomplish this:
DISCRETE SINGLE-USE UNIT- The term ‘discrete single-use unit’ means any product containing tobacco that--
‘(A) is intended or expected to be consumed without being combusted; and
‘(B) is in the form of a lozenge, tablet, pill, pouch, dissolvable strip, or other discrete single-use or single-dose unit.’
This section of the bill needs to be altered to specifically tax only discrete single-use snus, snuff, dip, etc. This needs to avoid electronic cigarettes all together. There could also be another addition to the bill that specifically prohibits electronic cigarettes from being taxed. S. 1403 also concerns me because of the this part of IDEA:
Other Tobacco Products- Any product not otherwise described under this section that has been determined to be a tobacco product by the Food and Drug Administration through its authorities under the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act shall be taxed at a level of tax equivalent to the tax rate for cigarettes on an estimated per use basis as determined by the Secretary.’.
In addition to this, the FDA has released the following in a press release:
"FDA is developing a strategy to regulate this emerging class of products (Electronic Cigarettes) as tobacco products under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act."
Electronic cigarettes have helped many people all around the country. Electronic Cigarettes are not a drug, because they are not created for the purpose of keeping people from using tobacco products, and they are not a tobacco product because they do not use any part of the tobacco plant (except nicotine that is derived from tobacco in some cases). It is a happy coincidence that people would rather quit smoking and start using an electronic cigarette. That is why the community classifies these devices as a "safer alternative to tobacco."
I can tell you one story of a member of the electronic cigarette community who was a smoker, and had stage 3 emphysema. He quit smoking and took up electronic cigarettes instead. His emphysema has now been reduced to stage 1. I can also tell you that the FDA has started a proverbial witch hunt against these devices. The FDA has tried to classify these devices as a drug so a person would have to go to their doctor to get a prescription for them. This would do nothing but raise prices and prevent the majority of people from using these devices. They also, without legal power to do so, have confiscated shipments of electronic cigarettes. They were sued over this and lost. I do not conduct business in the electronic cigarette industry, but I do use the product, and I find that it has helped me. Please assist CASAA and the electronic cigarette community by protecting these devices in this proposed bill (S.1403) and future bills.
Thank You,
Sources:
CASAA.org
FDA Files New Appeal on E-Cigarettes - WSJ.com
Electronic Cigarettes – FDA to Regulate Electronic Cigarettes, Also Called E-cigarettes, Like Regular Cigarettes
Read The Bill: S. 1403 - GovTrack.us
https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/s1403/report#nation
What I got back:
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:
senator@corker.senate.gov
Technical details of permanent failure:
Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 550 550 5.1.1 <senator@corker.senate.gov>... User unknown (state 14).
I don't think he likes getting e-mails...
I think we need to be proactive on fighting ecig bans and taxes. The FDA will not give up on trying to control this, and the government will want to tax this stuff like its tobacco. Just thought that you all might want to be informed of this.
Senator Corker's contact page is located here though https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactMe.
Here is the popvox poll if you haven't already voted: https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/s1403
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