UPDATE (06/22/2013):
SB 648, which has already passed the California Senate, has been assigned to the California Assembly Committee on Government Organization. Please see below for how to submit testimony directly to the committee.
California citizens should not only submit testimony in opposition to SB 648, but you should also begin the process of contacting your own California State Assembly representative directly to encourage a NO vote on SB 648. In these communications, make sure to include your address and phone number. If possible, CASAA recommends asking for a face-to-face meeting with your Assembly member about this bill.
Vapers must remain vigilant against this legislation every step of the way.
============================
Original Post:
California: Attempt to Add E-Cigarettes to "Smoking" Ban -- SB 648
If enacted, this bill would:
Ban the use of vapor products wherever smoking is banned. Among those provisions most likely to impact users are those that would:
SB 648, which has already passed the California Senate, has been assigned to the California Assembly Committee on Government Organization. Please see below for how to submit testimony directly to the committee.
California citizens should not only submit testimony in opposition to SB 648, but you should also begin the process of contacting your own California State Assembly representative directly to encourage a NO vote on SB 648. In these communications, make sure to include your address and phone number. If possible, CASAA recommends asking for a face-to-face meeting with your Assembly member about this bill.
Vapers must remain vigilant against this legislation every step of the way.
============================
Original Post:
California: Attempt to Add E-Cigarettes to "Smoking" Ban -- SB 648
If enacted, this bill would:
Ban the use of vapor products wherever smoking is banned. Among those provisions most likely to impact users are those that would:
- Ban e-cigarette use in virtually all workplaces in California, including in hospitals. Violations would be punishable by fines of $100, $200, and $500. (Section 12)
- Ban e-cigarette use inside or within 20 feet of any public building or in a vehicle owned by the state. (Section 4)
- Declares that the use of electronic cigarettes may be a hazard to the health of the general public, and would include e-cigarettes in all future smoking bans passed in California. (Section 11)
- Ban e-cigarette use in railroads and air carriers. (Section 13)
You can watch the April 17, 2013 meeting of Senate Health Committee hearing here (begins at the 34-minute mark). Featured speakers include CASAA Legislative Director Gregory Conley and Father Jack Kearney of the California Association for Alcohol & Drug Educators (CAADE). CASAA would like to thank the 40+ others turned out to oppose the bill, as well as the California Senators who opposed this bill when it was in the Senate.
If you are in California and can travel to Sacramento to attend a future hearing, please e-mail us at board@casaa.org with the subject line "California Testimony." We are going to need vapers throughout California to organize trips to Sacramento. Please help out in any way you can.
Please call or write the members of the California Assembly Committee on Government Organization
What to say:
1. You would like them to vote NO on SB 648.
2. Tell your story on how switching to an e-cigarette has changed your life.
3. Explain how smoking bans are enacted to protect the public from the harm of secondhand smoke, but e-cigarettes have not been shown to cause harm to bystanders. In fact, all evidence to date shows that the low health risks associated with e-cigarettes is comparable to other smokeless nicotine products.
The low risks of e-cigarettes is supported by research done by Dr. Siegel of Boston University, Dr. Eissenberg of Virginia Commonwealth, Dr Maciej L Goniewicz of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Dr. Laugesen of Health New Zealand and by the fact that the FDA testing, in spite of its press statement, failed to find harmful levels of carcinogens or toxic levels of any chemical in the vapor.
At the April 17th meeting of the Health Committee, Senator Corbett cited a study finding trace levels of metals in e-cigarettes as a reason to support banning e-cigarettes in public places. Please urge the legislators to read Dr. Michael Siegel's two articles on that study (here and here).
4. Detail how electronic cigarette use is easy to distinguish from actual smoking. Although some e-cigarettes resemble real cigarettes, many do not. It is easy to tell when someone lights a cigarette, from the smell of smoke. E-cigarette vapor is practically odorless, and generally any detectable odor is not unpleasant and smells nothing like smoke. Additionally, e-cigarette users can decide whether to release any vapor ("stealth vaping"). With so little evidence of use, enforcing indoor use bans on electronic cigarettes would be nearly impossible.
5. If you are a California resident and currently vape in public, talk about your experience. Do businesses you frequent allow you to vape? What about your office? Be sure to include your address and full name.
6. Inform them that the ability to use electronic cigarettes in public spaces will actually improve public health by inspiring other smokers to switch. Surveys of thousands of users indicate that the majority of those who switch, completely replace tobacco cigarettes with the electronic cigarettes, reducing their health risks by 98-99%.
7. Tell them that by switching to a smokeless product, you have greatly reduced your health risks.
8. Direct them to the CASAA.org website for more information.
How to Submit Testimony to the Committee on Government Organization
Please submit testimony on SB 648 directly to Eric.Johnson@asm.ca.gov with the subject line "SB 648 Testimony." If you have already submitted testimony, please resubmit it to ensure that members of the Government Organization Committee are sent it.
CASAA also encourages California citizens to call and e-mail the representatives on the Government Organization Committee.
(contacts listed on CASAA Call To Action linked above)
Last edited:
