Utah legislation

[JustJulie]

A significant victory, but we're not out of the woods yet . . .

Ray said he plans to meet with the committee over the next few days to see if he can sway them to change their minds to bring the bill back before the committee and vote in favor of the measure.

Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, the sponsor of the legislation, claims he had commitments from enough members of the committee before the vote that he expected the bill to pass.

"We had enough commitments going in and some of them didn't vote how they told us," Ray said.

Bill banning nicotine candy sales voted down

I think we need to write thank you notes to the legislators who voted AGAINST the bill and let them know how much we appreciate their willingness to protect adults' rights to have access to products that are inherently less risky than smoking. I would encourage people to listen to the audio. You can get it from this site:

House Business and Labor Committee 2011

Go to the meeting on February 25th, and you can listen to the audio. The discussion of HB 170 starts at around 27 minutes, 30 seconds. Personally, as frustrating as it was to listen to the lies and misinformation from the proponents of HB 170, it was incredibly heartening to hear the probing questions and insightful comments made by several of the representatives. Listen to that, and you'll see why we should be thanking several of those representatives--they heard the truth and responded.

Here's the roll call of who voted which way:

Nays - 10
Bird, J.
Brown, D.
Froerer, G.
Gibson, F.
Ipson, D.
Kiser, T.
Last, B.
Morley, M.
Webb, R. C.
Wiley, L.

Yeas - 4
Biskupski, J.
Duckworth, S.
Dunnigan, J.
Pitcher, D.

 

[Jacinda222]

I just sent an email to the Nay voting Reps (I had been thinking I would like to do that anyway, so it just gave me some extra motivation) and I also sent an email to all my friends and family - most of whom are Utahns - who support my choice to use e-cigs and asked them to also send thank-you emails, and also to forward the info to any other friends and family they have who support reduced-harm smoking alternatives.

Hopefully I can get a ton of people here involved with this!

 

[afrazier5]

Hey folks I just got a message from CASAA on this and we're not completely out of the woods yet. (quoted from Julie)

Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, the sponsor of the legislation, claims he had commitments from enough members of the committee before the vote that he expected the bill to pass.

"We had enough commitments going in and some of them didn't vote how they told us," Ray said.

<snip>

Ray said he plans to meet with the committee over the next few days to see if he can sway them to change their minds to bring the bill back before the committee and vote in favor of the measure.

Bill banning nicotine candy sales voted down

CASAA is going to send another letter to the Committee, this time thanking them for protecting the rights of adults in Utah to continue to have access to alternatives that are estimated to be as much as 99% less dangerous than smoking. I think we need to again mention the arguments in favor of flavors and internet sales. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like the bill Ray substituted still gunned for flavors and internet sales? We should do what we can to reinforce in their minds that they made the right decision.

We need to mobilize the supporters to send thank you letters.

Given how short the Utah legislative session is and Ray's comments that he's going to meet with committee members over the "next few days," I think it would be good to get those thank you letters out as soon as possible. Ray is on a mission, and he's not giving up without a fight.

 

[JustJulie]

Hopefully I can get a ton of people here involved with this!

You can be certain that Ray is out there asking people to write letters to these representatives, asking them why they refused to act to protect the children. Thus, it is very important that we write and let them know what we think.

Utah folks need to stay vigilant and protect the gains that they've made. And for those of us who are with Utah in spirit (if not geographically ), we can help by sending our emails as well.

We always seem to be quick to criticize the lawmakers who don't do the right thing . . . we ought to be at least as quick to thank those who are doing the right thing.

 

[Vocalek]

Saw Julie's comment on the Daily Herald news propaganda article. "Nicotine candies" indeed!

I added this comment:

Glaxo-Smith-Kline has changed the name of their FDA-approved "nicotine candies," available at drug stores and grocery stores across the state. Commit lozenges will henceforth be called Nicorette lozenges. The original lozenge was about 1/2 inch in diameter. A new "mini" version of the product is described on the Nicorette web site: "These breath mint-sized lozenges dissolve up to 3x faster. ...pocket-sized packaging (about the size of a lighter)... Nicorette Lozenge comes in some very tasty flavors like Original, Mint and Cherry." You may have seen the TV ad for Nicorette ("quitting sucks") that features a cartoon-like shark. May I suggest that the reporter compare the appearance, odor, texture, and taste of the dissolvable tobacco product called "orbs" by the manufacturers and the Glaxo-Smith Kline products and then give us his honest opinion regarding which class of product is more likely to be mistaken for candy.

 

[JustJulie]

May I suggest that the reporter compare the appearance, odor, texture, and taste of the dissolvable tobacco product called "orbs" by the manufacturers and the Glaxo-Smith Kline products and then give us his honest opinion regarding which class of product is more likely to be mistaken for candy.

 

[kristin]

Everyone - Please also check out this thread about the CASAA news story. We need help to Tweet, Facebook and Digg the article!! http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...tah-house-committee-decision.html#post2735564

 

[Rosco]

Kinda would put a reporter in the corner....I'd love to hear a response to that loaded question. Only a politician could do it justice.

 

[kristin]

I commented too:

The only people who are calling these products "candy" are those who claim to be worried about kids getting them. Don't they think that by calling them "candy" they are enticing youth more than the companies who manufacture them??

As Vocalek pointed out, pharmaceutical companies have been making "nicotine candy" for years now, yet no one tries to ban those nor do they call them "candy." At least the sale of all tobacco products are already prohibited to youth - the same cannot necessarily be said about the pharmaceutical "nicotine candy."

These groups used to be concerned about smoking, because smoking causes 99% of all the tobacco-related illnesses and deaths. Smokeless tobacco (like these lozenges, strips and sticks) are not shown to significantly increase the risk of ANY kind of cancer. So, for smokers to have these available and taste good is very important. If we can get smokers to switch, they would reduce their tobacco-related risks by nearly 100%!

Just as with pharmaceutical nicotine products, these smokeless products should be kept out of the reach of and not sold to children. But to ban access to adults flies in the face of the original mission of tobacco control organizations - getting people to quit SMOKING.

CASAA.org

 

[keelalagirl55]

Very well put Kristin!!

 

[Vocalek]

But to ban access to adults flies in the face of the original mission of tobacco control organizations - getting people to quit SMOKING.

The mission has changed. Now it's "Let's kill all the smokers."

 

[Bill Godshall]

More comments would be helpful in response to the outrageous article at
Bill banning nicotine candy sales voted down

Great comments so far by Julie, Elaine and Kristin.

The title and first two sentences of the article are:

Bill banning nicotine candy sales voted down

SALT LAKE CITY -- The House Business and Labor Committee voted down a bill that would have prevented nicotine candies from being sold in Utah. The candy is not currently sold in the state, but tobacco companies are putting the candies in test markets now.

Also, letters to the editor can be sent to dhletters@heraldextra.com
or by going to
heraldextra.com / Submit a Letter

Seems like the prohbitioinist groups, the Utah Health Dept., Rep. Paul Ray, and many in the news media are trying to encourage youth to use flavored tobacco/nicotine products and other smokeless tobacco by repeatedly calling them "candy".

 

[kristin]

I'll put a copy of the article up in the News and Comments sections.

 

[Bill Godshall]

I submitted to following letter to the editor of the Daily Herald.

By falsely and repeatedly referring to smokeless tobacco products and flavored tobacco/nicotine products as "candy", the Utah Health Department, Rep. Paul Ray, and the Daily Herald Flavored tobacco targets teens
Bill banning nicotine candy sales voted down
are actively encouraging youth to use these products, which is outrageous.

There is no evidence indicating that smokeless tobacco or electronic cigarette companies are marketing their products to minors in Utah or any other state.

Since Utah law already prohibits sales to minors under 19, the Health Dept can cite violators.

And if anyone has evidence that tobacco products are target marketed to youth, they should notify the State Attorney General to take prosecutorial action for violating 1998 Master Settlement Agreement.

Taxpayer dollars should not be spent falsely accusing companies of marketing to youth in a deceitful attempt to lobby legislators to ban the sale of these products to adults, including many who have sharply reduced their health risks by switching from cigarettes to these far less hazardous smokefree alternatives.

 

[afrazier5]

I've emailed or submitted online forms to all the statewide TV stations, major and a few minor news print organizations and the statewide press organization. They were all provided a copy of the press release from CASAA as well as an invitation to contact myself or the board of CASAA for comment.

 

[Vocalek]

This Opinion also needs comments (desperately!)

Flavored tobacco targets teens

 

[JustJulie]

This Opinion also needs comments (desperately!)

Flavored tobacco targets teens

I'm having trouble posting my comment. I'm saving it here to resubmit later:

For years, tobacco companies have been criticized for producing a product that, when used as directed, can cause serious health problems and even death. In response to the justifiable outrage (not to mention legal pressure), the tobacco companies have now been working hard to develop products that are far less dangerous than cigarettes.

Instead of applauding the fact that lower risk products are finally making their way into the marketplace, the tobacco companies are now accused of marketing to children simply because they are offering products in flavors.

While I am quite certain there are children who like fruit flavors, I can assure you that there are many adults who enjoy fruit flavors as well. Why not the outrage against the fruit-flavored FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapies?

The truth is that we simply cannot ban or eliminate every adult activity or product simply because it might also prove attractive to children. Maybe we should simply enforce the laws that are on the books--prohibit sales of these types of products to persons under the age of 19.

 

[afrazier5]

Very sad that this happened but if they had been vaping, this never would have occurred..
Officials: Cigarettes ignited St. George garage fire - ksl.com

Another good reason to push for smokeless alternatives.

 

[applefr3ak]

I want to personally say thank you to Jacinda. I am glad they let you speak! I personally think it shouldnt be legal for him to bring the bill back up.. it was voted against.. i mean seriously? i was running the shop that day and had a bunch of people in there listening to the live broadcast. you did great Jacinda I just know hes going to keep sneaking our e cigs onto a similar bill each year until he gets his way though.. ridiculous.

 

[Demarko]

This Opinion also needs comments (desperately!)

Flavored tobacco targets teens

Commented. What a disgusting letter to the editor. Someone (where's Jacinda?) should write a positive one!