Tennessee also proposing ban on e-cigs
- Thread starter Desert Willow
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Completely irrelevant. Take the national political debate somewhere else please.
This concerns the law in the state of Tennessee ONLY.
Here's the Hearing Info:
Go to Legislative Plaza which is across from TPAC- between Charlotte and Union and 6th and 7th Avenues - go to hearing room 31 at 2 pm.
I'll be there at 1PM on Wednesday if others are planning on coming!
Go to Legislative Plaza which is across from TPAC- between Charlotte and Union and 6th and 7th Avenues - go to hearing room 31 at 2 pm.
I'll be there at 1PM on Wednesday if others are planning on coming!
Thanks for going! Wish I could- I hope they let you speak!! Good luck to you!
Greg Conley (Placebo Effect) of CASAA has been in touch with a number of Reps and it looks as if one of the Reps will speak with Armstrong encouraging him to offer an amendment striking Section 18. This Rep also has to option to move to strike it himself. As of this time, Armstrong has yet to amend the bill.
I have personally been in contact with a number of TN vapers and have encouraged all of them to do what they can. Obviously, we need TN vapers to step up but we can use all of the help that we can get. If you are in need of advice for your letters, phone calls or testimony, feel free to contact CASAA at (board@casaa.org) or visit the CASAA Call to Action page at casaa.org.
And, thank you Steve for stepping up to the plate. I KNOW that you are going to do a phenomenal job.
Warrior Vapers Unite!
I have personally been in contact with a number of TN vapers and have encouraged all of them to do what they can. Obviously, we need TN vapers to step up but we can use all of the help that we can get. If you are in need of advice for your letters, phone calls or testimony, feel free to contact CASAA at (board@casaa.org) or visit the CASAA Call to Action page at casaa.org.
And, thank you Steve for stepping up to the plate. I KNOW that you are going to do a phenomenal job.
Warrior Vapers Unite!
Please note that there IS a loophole in the wording. The bill defines an e-cig as having a cartridge, so in strict legal terms if the device does not include a cartridge, as in a drip tip kit, it should be exempt from the wording of this bill. Thoughts?
Is there a definition of "cartridge"? Could the law interpret the atomizer as being a cartridge, or even the drip tip itself?
This just shows how ignorant those proposing the law are concerning e-cigs.
It's all about us educating them and the public. The general opinion (even some of my friends) is, anything with the word "cigarette" in it is a "bad thing," and if they can be regulated and even banned somehow, that's a "good thing."
Frankly I don't think that parsing the wording to find a loophole is in our best interests. What is needed is to expose the BS that the legislators have been fed as BS.
They will have been told that the e-cigs contain carcinogens and antifreeze.
They will have been told that they are being marketed to children.
They will have been told "We don't know what's in them."
They will have been told that "nicotine is poison."
They will have been told that they need to be approved by the FDA as a smoking cessation medication.
They will have been told that there is no proof that they help people quit smoking.
These last two are kind of tricky to handle because of the confusion between "quit smoking" and "nicotine cessation."
The way to handle it is to explain that a "smoking cessation" medication is meant to treat nicotine addiction. But the purpose of e-cigarettes is to function as a replacement for smoking, without necessarily ending the use of nicotine. Many people mistakenly believe that nicotine causes smoking-related diseases. Since nicotine doesn't cause any disease, nicotine abstinence isn't necessary to enjoy the health benefits acquired by attaining smoking abstinence.
It might help to print some of the charts that have been developed based on the survey conducted by the Tobacco Harm Reduction organization. Free Electronic Cigarette Charts
These provide data (which the anti-smokers do not have) to show that the users are all experienced smokers, with the average age falling well past the cut-off for childhood, that the vast majority use them to replace all their smoked cigarettes, and that 90% are reporting their health has improved.
As far as the "carcinogens" go, there's a good graphic you can download from CASAA to illustrate that e-cigs are no more carcinogenic than FDA-approved nicotine drugs. http://www.casaa.org/files/TSNA_Chart(1).pdf
There are two potential answers for the "antifreeze" issue if it comes up. 1. The quantity found (0.01 g) is thousands of times below the toxic level. 2. If dangerous quantities had been found, the FDA would have immediately pulled all the products off the shelves. They didn't, so there weren't.
They will have been told that the e-cigs contain carcinogens and antifreeze.
They will have been told that they are being marketed to children.
They will have been told "We don't know what's in them."
They will have been told that "nicotine is poison."
They will have been told that they need to be approved by the FDA as a smoking cessation medication.
They will have been told that there is no proof that they help people quit smoking.
These last two are kind of tricky to handle because of the confusion between "quit smoking" and "nicotine cessation."
The way to handle it is to explain that a "smoking cessation" medication is meant to treat nicotine addiction. But the purpose of e-cigarettes is to function as a replacement for smoking, without necessarily ending the use of nicotine. Many people mistakenly believe that nicotine causes smoking-related diseases. Since nicotine doesn't cause any disease, nicotine abstinence isn't necessary to enjoy the health benefits acquired by attaining smoking abstinence.
It might help to print some of the charts that have been developed based on the survey conducted by the Tobacco Harm Reduction organization. Free Electronic Cigarette Charts
These provide data (which the anti-smokers do not have) to show that the users are all experienced smokers, with the average age falling well past the cut-off for childhood, that the vast majority use them to replace all their smoked cigarettes, and that 90% are reporting their health has improved.
As far as the "carcinogens" go, there's a good graphic you can download from CASAA to illustrate that e-cigs are no more carcinogenic than FDA-approved nicotine drugs. http://www.casaa.org/files/TSNA_Chart(1).pdf
There are two potential answers for the "antifreeze" issue if it comes up. 1. The quantity found (0.01 g) is thousands of times below the toxic level. 2. If dangerous quantities had been found, the FDA would have immediately pulled all the products off the shelves. They didn't, so there weren't.
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Hey I haven't read the whole thread yet... but I wrote them a letter after following a link on Volcano's forum (this was before I visited this thread. I got a reply from them saying they were looking into amending article 18. I thought people might want to know. I imagine the more people contact them opposing the more likely the amendment would be.
I spoke with the offices of 5 Representatives and 2 Senators and all said they opposed the bill. A couple did say that they opposed unless article 18 was amended, and 2 confirmed that they were informed Monday that article 18 was amended, it just hadn't updated online yet. They all stated they have received a lot of calls and emails concerning the matter. One of the secretaries I spoke to told me she was even using an ecig herself!
EMAIL JUST IN: This Bill will NOT be heard until next week now. Sounds like Armstrong is setting up to make an ammendment to it before it gets voted. AGAIN, if you were planning on coming today, the bill will NOT be heard. The new date and time is now Wednesday, April 20th at 2pm!
Email From Assistance to Dale Ford:
Steve,
I just got word from Rep. Armstrong's office that their bill will not be heard in committee today. They are rolling the bill to next week's calendar - Wednesday, 4/20 at 2 pm. Rep. Armstrong is still looking into the possibility of doing an amendment to the bill and I believe he wants to get everything in order before it is heard.
Please let me know you received this message because I hate for you to come all the way up here and the bill not be heard.
Email From Assistance to Dale Ford:
Steve,
I just got word from Rep. Armstrong's office that their bill will not be heard in committee today. They are rolling the bill to next week's calendar - Wednesday, 4/20 at 2 pm. Rep. Armstrong is still looking into the possibility of doing an amendment to the bill and I believe he wants to get everything in order before it is heard.
Please let me know you received this message because I hate for you to come all the way up here and the bill not be heard.
*sigh. Well I guess I'll keep my fingers crossed til next week. Especially since I live in TN...
Ugh. I look forward to hearing you speak next week Steve, and I'll stay on top of it.
Yes, let us know how things go. I'm hoping the "amendment" is a good thing. The last I heard was that it was not amended to say that any company wanting to sell e-cig products in Tennessee needed to register w/ the FDA...and the Amendment would say exactly this...but that's been 3-4 weeks ago and I heard it from the rep who was proposing section 18. Let's hope that "his" amendment isn't what's up.
I hope so too, and that the amendment is just to strike section 18 completely. But I've said it before -- maybe even in this thread -- but registering with the FDA is not the same thing as getting approval from the FDA. I have no idea what is involved with registering, but it can be done. Johnson Creek did it.
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