Petition the administration to recognize e-cigarettes

[Sophey]

When I click on this link it will not let me sign this petition, I have an account and it Automatically signs me in as soon as the page loads, the spot that says sing this petition is gray and will not let me click on it to sign, whats the deal here with this and how do we sign it.

The site is under construction, but there is a way to bypass it. After you sign up and receive verification in your email, copy and paste the password the account has generated for your account. Close and re-open link to petition. (I had to close the page and re-sign in, in order to get rid of the grayed-out link.) Sign in using that password. Then click the sign-petition link, and your voice is counted. (That may be a long way in, but it worked for me.) I hope this helps!

 

[smokingevolved]

Thanks to everybody for getting this petition to 226 signatures. We're now searchable on the White House website, which means we'll hopefully see a lot more exposure. Keep up the fight! With any luck we just might get the government to address this, or even support it as they did in the UK.

 

[Creniker]

I was number 264. Will be putting this on facebook. Thanks for letting us know.

 

[Dark Jester]

#261

My only concern would be what they do once it's on their 'radar'. Do they support the DIY and Small Business aspect of the existing industry, or do they crush the existing industry with oppressive regulations and taxes and pass control over to BP and the FDA?

$100 Billion per year in healthcare cost. Anyone have a number on how much tax revenue they bring in from cigarette sales yearly? Even a conservative half pack a day estimate on 46 million smoking americans puts me at $33 Billion with the Government taking $4/pack. I'd bet the real number is close to the $100 Billion mark. I'd also be extremely surprised if that revenue was going toward anything cigarette related. And the $100 Billion 'cost' is not carried by the government. It's private insurance and business costs. I think the government might take issue with someone significantly screwing with a $100+ Billion revenue stream.

I don't know. If it swings the right way it can be good. I think it's much more likely to swing the wrong way and we'll see a lot of small businesses destroyed while the government and BP get rich off of this new industry.

 

[YKruss]

Registered and signed - number 308.

 

[OrthodoxAtheist]

"Our Apologies
This Section of our site is currently undergoing maintenance
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How appropriate for a government website. lolz Will sign once it allows me to verify my account. :\ It is a testament to my appreciation for vaping that I bothered to finally create an account, since there is another important petition out there I should've signed before now. Yep, that one. Go sign that too, those who approve.

 

[Sophey]

#261

My only concern would be what they do once it's on their 'radar'. Do they support the DIY and Small Business aspect of the existing industry, or do they crush the existing industry with oppressive regulations and taxes and pass control over to BP and the FDA?

$100 Billion per year in healthcare cost. Anyone have a number on how much tax revenue they bring in from cigarette sales yearly? Even a conservative half pack a day estimate on 46 million smoking americans puts me at $33 Billion with the Government taking $4/pack. I'd bet the real number is close to the $100 Billion mark. I'd also be extremely surprised if that revenue was going toward anything cigarette related. And the $100 Billion 'cost' is not carried by the government. It's private insurance and business costs. I think the government might take issue with someone significantly screwing with a $100+ Billion revenue stream.

I don't know. If it swings the right way it can be good. I think it's much more likely to swing the wrong way and we'll see a lot of small businesses destroyed while the government and BP get rich off of this new industry.

For the reasons you listed, I too experienced a sense of hesitancy before signing the petition; however, it seems to me advantageous for us to show presence on the national radar -- especially in light of the UK's statement of support regarding e-cigs. Staying in the shadows only leaves us open to more under-handed politicking (such as S. 1403).

My fingers are crossed -- hoping this thing "swings the right way."

 

[Dark Jester]

For the reasons you listed, I too experienced a sense of hesitancy before signing the petition; however, it seems to me advantageous for us to show presence on the national radar -- especially in light of the UK's statement of support regarding e-cigs. Staying in the shadows only leaves us open to more under-handed politicking (such as S. 1403).

My fingers are crossed -- hoping this thing "swings the right way."

I also read the UK release. It seemed more a preliminary promotion of some device that they have 'in the works', more than a promotion of the e-cig industry itself. If it really was the former, I don't expect the private market there to fare well against a government sponsored solution. Same would hold true here in the states as well. There wasn't really any mention in that release about the existing industry. Only the potential benefit of the technology and they had a solution coming.

Main issue seems to be getting the message out to the broader smoking consumer public, while keeping the goverment from coming in a crushing everything. I'm not sure one can happen without the other.

Maybe I'm just getting more cynical as I age.

 

[nofferman]

Signed, #316.

I'm still quite new to all this, but IMHO e-cigs are going to get on the radar regardless. Better to have the topic brought up first by people who are advocating its strengths and virtues, than by a politician looking to score some 'for the children' talking points on their next re-election campaign.

And yeah, hire some better developers please, Whitehouse.gov. Under Construction and 404 messages make our founding fathers cry.

 

[kempo63]

Signed. Up to 351 now.

 

[Hambone68]

Signature #361 here

 

[smokingevolved]

#261

My only concern would be what they do once it's on their 'radar'. Do they support the DIY and Small Business aspect of the existing industry, or do they crush the existing industry with oppressive regulations and taxes and pass control over to BP and the FDA?

$100 Billion per year in healthcare cost. Anyone have a number on how much tax revenue they bring in from cigarette sales yearly? Even a conservative half pack a day estimate on 46 million smoking americans puts me at $33 Billion with the Government taking $4/pack. I'd bet the real number is close to the $100 Billion mark. I'd also be extremely surprised if that revenue was going toward anything cigarette related. And the $100 Billion 'cost' is not carried by the government. It's private insurance and business costs. I think the government might take issue with someone significantly screwing with a $100+ Billion revenue stream.

I don't know. If it swings the right way it can be good. I think it's much more likely to swing the wrong way and we'll see a lot of small businesses destroyed while the government and BP get rich off of this new industry.

I share your concern Jester, but I also agree with others here who believe that the government should be made aware of our preferences, for better or worse. You pose an interesting question though. I looked around a bit for numbers on government tax revenue from cigarettes, and I found that the federal government taxes each pack at $1.01 since 2009. Assuming 40 million smokers at a generous pack/day, thats nearly $15 billion in federal revenue. The states assess their own taxes, but these are typically lower than the federal rate. (See the CDC's numbers for more data)

The $100 billion dollar price tag for healthcare costs came from the Obama administration itself when they proposed the tax increase in '09. This leaves out the lost productivity from smokers who fall ill or die early, which has been estimated by economists to be another roughly $100 billion annually. That's a drain of $200 billion on our economy each year.

You're right that the cost of healthcare falls on insurance companies and businesses, but these costs are quickly passed on to employees and consumers who work for these companies or consume their products/services. Ultimately, we all end up paying for this. And when smoking causes 1 in 5 deaths each year in America, we all suffer from the loss of individuals who could have contributed significantly to our economy.

A full analysis of the benefit of moving to e-cigs would have to consider jobs lost at tobacco companies, state revenue lost, tobacoo farmers out of work, etc etc... clearly beyond the scope of this forum. However, it seems clear that a tobacco free America would result in a net gain for all of us, though some would benefit/lose more than others. (ie tobacco companies) I like to think that our government would prefer to see fewer Americans die while reducing burdensome costs of healthcare and lost productivity, instead of bailing out big tobacco. I wouldn't really be surprised either way though.

 

[DC2]

Main issue seems to be getting the message out to the broader smoking consumer public, while keeping the goverment from coming in a crushing everything. I'm not sure one can happen without the other.

There are plenty of forces at work already trying to crush electronic cigarettes.
That already includes the government (FDA) and even bigger players (Big Pharma) with no hesitance to spend money.

It seems to me our best hope of not getting crushed, in my opinion, is to grow our numbers and make our voices heard.
Relying on flying under the radar is no longer an option.

 

[rothenbj]

I totally agree DC and any wasted time in getting there just gives our opponents more motive to step on us. I read the comment in this thread-

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ette-forum-discussion-thread.html#post4216444

about signing the petition, "I'll pass this go around.

I think the text was poorly worded and cannot, in good faith, put my name to it."

When we worry about the wording in our plea rather than making it, we are just losing time.

 

[Dark Jester]

Good points guys. I think nofferman summed part of the current situation up pretty well:

I'm still quite new to all this, but IMHO e-cigs are going to get on the radar regardless. Better to have the topic brought up first by people who are advocating its strengths and virtues, than by a politician looking to score some 'for the children' talking points on their next re-election campaign.

The message definitely needs to get out to make sure E-Cigs don't get lumped in with every other smoking bill/ban which some states and the FDA are already trying to do. I can easily see the purpose for this.

I share your concern Jester, but I also agree with others here who believe that the government should be made aware of our preferences, for better or worse. You pose an interesting question though. I looked around a bit for numbers on government tax revenue from cigarettes, and I found that the federal government taxes each pack at $1.01 since 2009. Assuming 40 million smokers at a generous pack/day, thats nearly $15 billion in federal revenue. The states assess their own taxes, but these are typically lower than the federal rate. (See the CDC's numbers for more data)

I thought the government was taking a lot more tax than that. Marlboros are $5/pack here (and we're on the cheap end here in NV), but just 12 years ago before all the huge tax increases they were just $1/pack. Some places in the country Marlboros are around $10/pack right now. From $1 to $5, I find it hard to believe that 300% of the 400% increase is just due to cost of business going up. And the difference between $5/Pack here and $7-10/pack in most areas means that some government agency (County/State/Federal) is getting that extra $2-5. It's not charged by BT or they would be $10/pack across the nation, and retailers typically only take 3-5%.

I don't know. It could go either way once it hits mainstream. I'll keep myself stocked up on concentrated nicotine juice just in case the hammer comes down at some point.

 

[craigel]

Just signed. 4,570 to go.

 

[SubOnAux24]

Signed, 4562 more to go

 

[loft]

Signed and distributing.

 

[cherewine]

signed up and signed petition Sorry, don't remember my #

 

[tybin]

bump for the cause