Oregon AG's using Office to try to ban selling of 'E-cigarette'

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mamu

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njoy is no longer shipping to Oregon. You can see the message "Effective immediately please be advised that NJOY is no longer available for sale in the State of Oregon until further notice. This is per the instructions of the Oregon State Attorney General. There will be no exceptions" on their site.

Seems I tried earlier to give a heads up about this happening. It's unfortunate that no one listened.

Are you listening now Oregonians??

I hope others are taking note that the other states will most likely follow what is happening now in Oregon.

The problem is online suppliers might not sell to people in Oregon now.

Nonsense. Owning and using a PV is NOT illegal in Oregon. The only think they're banning is the SALE of PVs in Oregon. That doesn't block anyone in Oregon from buying a PV that was sold somewhere else. We can continue to buy online just as we always have.
 

greenie

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These thread titles aren't good for us, our collective blood pressure is high enough as it is.

LOBELIA!!!???

Hilarious!:D

Yeah, I imagine that e-cigs would be good seller when the carts are made from "pukeweed" and "vomitwort":evil:

lol and dirty was funny too.

Amongst all this terrible news in a couple of threads I have had the opportunity to lol twice without providing any meaningful contribution.

I will just thank some of you for the comic relief with good grace and recede to the background again.

:rolleyes:
 
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jigtg

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Let's face it people, this move by the AG in Oregon demonstrates what the e-cig is up against because the Manufacture's did not follow the rules and provide the requiste studies and go though the regulation process so that taxation could be advanced.
That does not mean the outcome would of been better if they would have acted sooner. (I'm not saying they could of have since Ruyan is still conducting their trial) Usually long negotiations yeild better results... And what is this nonsense about taxing e-cigs? If using e-cigs cause no additional burden to health care what sense does taxation make?
"Fear is the path of the Dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."
 

Trashman

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Response from Oregon :
James -
Thanks for your email and your concern about our actions. We have the same goals - protect the health of Oregonians - and our goal is to have the scientific research needed to prove these new products are safe. Our agreements allow for sale once the safety of the product has been assured. Simple, but important.

Again, thanks for your concern,
Ben
 

ImYourSalt

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Im in Portland.
I've had no problems so far. I was planning on placing at least 1 or 2 more orders in the next couple days, and will try to provide an update soon.

...EDIT:

Oh yeah, my friend just bought one from a vendor downtown. A starter kit and a couple bottles of Smoke Juice. Im not worried.
 
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LaceyUnderall

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For those who participate in both of the Oregon threads floating around here, I apologize for the double post... However, I posted this at VF and thought I would share it over here... it breaks down the press release noted on the OR AG's website and is kind of long... but thought some might be interested.

http://www.doj.state.or.us/releases/...el073009.shtml

It is deliberately written to mislead people into thinking that they banned it statewide, across the board. If you remove all of the "smoke" about how great the OR's AG office is the release reads like this: (Please read the original AND this for comparison)

Deal with travel centers makes Oregon the first state to stop the sale of the unapproved nicotine delivery sevices

The Oregon Department of Justice today filed two settlements that prevent two national travel store chains from selling "electronic cigarettes" in Oregon. The action is the first of its kind in the country and prevents Oregonians from buying potentially dangerous products that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to approve.

The affected travel store chains, Pilot Travel Centers, which has seven centers in Oregon, and TA Operating, which has four centers in Oregon, both sell "NJOY" brand electronic cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes are actually battery operated nicotine delivery devices constructed to mimic conventional cigarette. Each "cigarette" consists of a heating element and a replaceable plastic cartridge that contains various chemicals, including various concentrations of liquid nicotine. The heating element vaporizes the liquid, which the user inhales as if it were smoke.

Despite FDA issued "Import Alerts" against NJOY and other brands of electronic cigarettes, and despite the fact that the U.S. Customs Service detained several shipments of these devices, sales of electronic cigarettes continue throughout the United States. Sales persisted even though just last week the FDA warned the public about health concerns regarding electronic cigarettes. FDA tests showed a wide variation in the amount of nicotine delivered by three different samples of nicotine cartridges with the same label. Tests also revealed the presence of nitrosamines – a known carcinogen. By the time the FDA issued its warnings, the Oregon Department of Justice had already launched an active investigation of the sale and promotion of electronic cigarettes. NJOY electronic cigarettes were a target of that investigation.

The settlement announced today prohibits the sale of electronic cigarettes in Oregon until they are approved by FDA, or until a court rules the FDA does not have the authority to regulate electronic cigarettes. Even if courts decide that the FDA does not have regulation authority, the settlement stipulates that electronic cigarettes may not be sold in Oregon unless there is competent and reliable scientific evidence to support the product's safety claims. In addition, the companies must give the Attorney General advance notice that they intend to sell electronic cigarettes in Oregon, provide copies of all electronic cigarette advertising, and provide copies of the scientific studies they maintain substantiates their claims.

***

The last paragraph is very misleading. They lead the reader to believe that they "prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes in Oregon" however, that is only in effect for those who were part of the settlement. The last paragraph SHOULD read:

The settlement announced today prohibits the sale of nJoy brand electronic cigarettes in Oregon in Pilot Travel Centers and TA Operating until they are approved by FDA, or until a court rules the FDA does not have the authority to regulate electronic cigarettes. Even if courts decide that the FDA does not have regulation authority, the settlement stipulates that nJoy brand electronic cigarettes may not be sold at Pilot Travel Centers and TA Operating in Oregon unless there is competent and reliable scientific evidence to support the product's safety claims. In addition, the nJoy brand must give the Attorney General advance notice that they intend to sell electronic cigarettes in Oregon, provide copies of all electronic cigarette advertising, and provide copies of the scientific studies they maintain substantiates their claims.

Gotta love condensing the message (Underlines are what should have been included to make the message clear.)
 

HighTech

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Lacey---this is what the AG Office for Oregon stated:

"The ban in Oregon includes an agreement by Njoy to show its product doesn't cause any harm, whether or not it is subject to FDA regulation, said Ben Unger, a spokesman for the attorney general's office.
"If companies want to sell electronic cigarettes to consumers, they have to be able to prove they are safe," added Deputy Attorney General Mary Williams"

Meaning that if you try to sell e-cigs in Oregon, the AG is coming a knocking----wheather it is NJOY, SE or anyone else they are aware of.

Hope that clears things up a bit.

Sun

Well, that seems like a right nice bit of media spin by the AGs office. I would tell them to show me a law that bans the sale, then I would take heed. Now if the court case comes down in favor of the FDA, then thats a different story. As it stands right now, jurisdiction with the FDA has not been solidified. I don't believe the AG should have the right to ban anything that is not against the law.
 

Surf Monkey

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Seems I tried earlier to give a heads up about this happening. It's unfortunate that no one listened.

Are you listening now Oregonians??

I hope others are taking note that the other states will most likely follow what is happening now in Oregon.

You're not interpreting that right. NJOY isn't doing direct sales in Oregon anymore. But that doesn't mean you can't mail order their product here. The settlement barred them from offering their product in three retail locations. Nothing more, nothing less. You can still order NJOY product from outside of Oregon and have it shipped here. Same with Smoking Everywhere. They pulled some of their retail operations, but you can still order from them and get their products over the Web. There are no restrictions here on owning or using PVs. There are no restrictions on buying PVs over the Web here. There are no restrictions on buying product from ANY other company than NJOY here. In fact, NJOY could continue to sell product here if they wanted, as long as they did it through a retailer that wasn't mentioned in the settlement.

There's a lot of misinformation going around about the Oregon legislation. It's not a ban in any sense of the word. It's an action specifically against NJOY and two specific retailers. The reason this is getting mischaracterized is that the Oregon AG keeps making false statements about the "Oregon e-cigarette ban." He lies about it because he's pressing an agenda that goes beyond both his personal jurisdiction and the scope of the settlement with NJOY.
 

LaceyUnderall

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Lacey---this is what the AG Office for Oregon stated:

"The ban in Oregon includes an agreement by Njoy to show its product doesn't cause any harm, whether or not it is subject to FDA regulation, said Ben Unger, a spokesman for the attorney general's office.
"If companies want to sell electronic cigarettes to consumers, they have to be able to prove they are safe," added Deputy Attorney General Mary Williams"

Meaning that if you try to sell e-cigs in Oregon, the AG is coming a knocking----wheather it is NJOY, SE or anyone else they are aware of.

Hope that clears things up a bit.

Sun

Actually... it doesn't. What they are saying to the press is not what they have noted in their official statement on their website, which is what I have noted below. I posted a link to their original release. Oregon Department of Justice - 2009 Media Release

What is happening, is they are omitting words to get that sound bite in for the newspapers and the omissions make it sound like there is a blanket ban.

This, does come down to claims and the AG notes that in their statements. "In addition, the companies must give the Attorney General advance notice that they intend to sell electronic cigarettes in Oregon, provide copies of all electronic cigarette advertising, and provide copies of the scientific studies they maintain substantiates their claims."

We must remember that the companies they are talking about are only the ones involved in the settlement.
 

LaceyUnderall

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surfmonkey, i feel bad that you have to keep shouting into the wind, trying to clear up the misinformation flying around these days.

I do too... Please folks, stop reading news articles as 90% of the time they are greatly misleading. For instance, the Associated Press started a misleading bit of information noting that 19 brands were tested. It wasn't 19 brands, it was 2 brands and 18 samples. Which even the 18 samples in an article somewhere was made into 19 samples, which now is the standard in all articles, including most comments on this very forum. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/e-cigarette-news/33436-ny-article-needs-retraction-2.html

Even AP gets stuff wrong. Misinformation can be deadly!

Go straight to the source. For example, you read an article about the AG of Oregon, go to the AG of Oregon's website and find what they actually have to say. But even there it can be misleading as I noted in a post 6 posts down from here. :)
 
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Surf Monkey

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It's really infuriating that the AG here has been able to snow so many people. Even Sun is having issues understanding what's happening in Oregon, and that's saying something since he's one of the best informed people on this board.

It's a shame that Kroger isn't up for re-election for another three years. I think this guy is doing a horrible job, not just with e-cigarettes, but with a wide range of issues. He's dishonest, self-righteous and not above using the AG's office for his own personal political agenda. It bothers me to no end that Kroger is spending so much time on this and other marginal issues when Oregon has much larger problems to focus on.
 

Surf Monkey

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No surprise at all. Kroger has been suspect since day one. The problem (as with any state AG) is that people don't know anything about the candidates when the election happens so they either don't vote or they just pick based on whose ads they've seen. I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you think voting in presidential elections is all you have to do to be politically connected, you're wrong. The MOST important elections you can participate are your state and local elections. Kroger proves that point in spades IMO.
 

LaceyUnderall

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Lacey--that is just more smoke--you can not enforce law on and ad hoc bases. It is only because NJOY and SE where selling there that the AG went into settlement with them and SE is now fighting it. If any other company showed up there, they would be in the game as well. So it is not "company specific", rather it is legal interpertation specific.

Sun

Sun -

That's ridiculous! You are arguing that if say one cereal company reaches a settlement with the AG's office for whatever reason, all other cereal companies must comply?

That's bullsh*t. I am not a part of any settlement. I didn't agree to any terms. Why should I have to follow someone else's settlement? That's like saying that nJoy rules the world of ecigs!

Sorry... I just can't get on board with that logic. But hey... we read things completely differently ;) And we know this.

Much love. Why aren't you at the beach today? I know... why I am I here too? Damn addictions :)
 

LaceyUnderall

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That is the way it works Lacey. You can not enforce law on on entity without enforcing it on all. What is illegal for one entity, is illegal for all.

Sun

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Settlement_(litigation)

"A settlement, as well as dealing with the dispute between the parties is a contract between those parties, and is one possible (and common) result when parties sue (or contemplate so doing) each other in civil proceedings. The plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) identified in the lawsuit can end the dispute between themselves without a trial[1]. Justice is not a central issue here, merely power: often one party has little option but to submit to the will of the other."

Also: Settlement legal definition of Settlement. Settlement synonyms by the Free Online Law Dictionary.

"settlement n. the resolution of a lawsuit (or of a legal dispute prior to filing a complaint or petition) without going forward to a final court judgment. Most settlements are achieved by negotiation in which the attorneys (and sometimes an insurance adjuster with authority to pay a settlement amount on behalf of the company's insured defendant) and the parties agree to terms of settlement. Many states require a settlement conference" a few weeks before trial in an effort to achieve settlement with a judge or assigned attorneys to facilitate the process. A settlement is sometimes reached based upon a final offer just prior to trial (proverbially "on the courthouse steps") or even after trial has begun. A settlement reached just before trial or after a trial or hearing has begun is often "read into the record" and approved by the court so that it can be enforced as a judgment if the terms of the settlement are not complied with. Most lawsuits result in settlement."

Ok... what am I missing here?
 

Surf Monkey

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Lacey--that is just more smoke--you can not enforce law on and ad hoc bases. It is only because NJOY and SE where selling there that the AG went into settlement with them and SE is now fighting it. If any other company showed up there, they would be in the game as well. So it is not "company specific", rather it is legal interpertation specific.

Sun

I don't believe this is true. The AG's office is going after the companies one at a time. If the NJOY settlement was a blanket ban, they wouldn't have to take each one on a case by case basis.

And even if it is correct, there's still no ban in Oregon. People here can still legally order these devices over the Internet. They can still own them. They can still use them, in public.

Honestly, Sun, I'm concerned that you're muddying the water. As someone who lives here, it's very clear to me from the reporting and from the analysis that the settlement is focused exclusively on NJOY and SE.
 
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