Utah legislation

[kristin]

This Opinion also needs comments (desperately!)

Flavored tobacco targets teens

Done. I think I was feeling a little testy last night when I wrote this!

This ranting against smokeless tobacco makes no sense. Do you honestly think tobacco companies care if people are buying cigarettes and need to scheme this much for one product? They would make just as much money (and for much longer because their customers are less likely to die) selling these low-risk smokeless products - if they are allowed to sell them to smokers.

You don't say what Travis moved "up the ladder" to? Was it cigarettes or a different, unflavored brand of smokeless? Research studies show tobacco users who start with only smokeless tobacco RARELY move to smoking. Think about it - no dangerous smoke or foul taste & smell and less than 1/4 the risk of oral cancer. (It's a myth that modern, western smokeless tobacco causes more oral cancer than smoking - look it up.) WHY would anyone go from pleasant-tasting lozenges, strips and sticks to harsh-tasting cigarettes?? This argument makes no sense whatsoever!

So, let's take all of the smokeless tobacco products, which have nearly 99% LESS health risks than smoking off the market. Now what is left for kids to buy? (Because you know they will - they already are!) CIGARETTES - the most deadly tobacco product! Tobacco disease and death is from SMOKE. All of those numbers you like to use are from SMOKING, NOT smokeless products.

How about we ban low-fat, sugar-free and nutritious foods while we're at it, so kids only have fatty, high sugar junk food as an option? We know that if kids don't have low-fat chips they won't be tempted to buy regular chips, right? No? That is essentially what you're recommending.

You're dreaming if you think banning a safer alternative is going to keep kids from smoking. They don't have those products available now and they still smoke - so you wouldn't be changing anything, just preventing it from getting better. All you'd be doing is taking away a safer alternative for kids (and adult smokers) and leaving the most hazardous product on the market for them to buy instead.

Brilliant argument.

By the way - Once I learned the truth, I switched to a reduced-harm smokeless alternative and I haven't smoked in 1.5 years now. It's the longest I have ever been without cigarettes and I have no desire to go back now that I have an alternative. At my last checkup, I was in excellent health for a 43 year old.

 

[Jacinda222]

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.

Thanks Jason! At the time I was unaware that there was a live feed, thank God. Now that it's over with though, it's nice to know I had people rooting for me! We'll keep fighting him and his morality troops! I agree that there should be some kind of policy against his being able to bring the bill back. They offered to hold it and he pushed for a vote. Well now he should reap the consequences.

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

I've been having trouble with their website ever since I registered. Every time I log in I get some weird URL message. I'm afraid I'm not internet savvy enough to fix the problem.

 

[MoonRose]

I posted my comment as well. That woman's article just yanked my chain and I probably commented a little stronger than I should have.

Ms. Matheson, you do not know what you are talking about and if anyone is promoting these smokeless tobacco alternatives as a candy type product aimed at enticing minors to try them, it is you by calling them candy in the first place. These are smokeless tobacco alternatives aimed at giving smokers a safer alternative to cigarette smoking and a chance to save their lives by eliminating the smoke and yet still get the nicotine that many of us really are unable to function well without. Much like the person who simply cannot function well during the day without their caffeine fixes, there are many of us who use nicotine in the same way.

It never ceases to amaze me how our society thinks nothing of addicting our youth to caffeine and prescription medications but have a fit that these same youths might become addicted to nicotine. Originally it was all about protecting the public against second hand smoke, but somewhere over the past couple of years the agenda has changed and now nicotine is the great evil to be stamped out. My use of nicotine in a smokeless form does not affect anyone else around me and for your information, at the age of 50, I still enjoy and prefer those "candy" flavors that I use. If not for those flavors, I would not have been able to remain smoke-free for the past 7 months, the longest I've ever been able to stop smoking since I first started smoking at the age of 24.

 

[applefr3ak]

i still think we should do like Raven said and find one of his family members that smokes.... and convert them.. then see how he feels..

 

[MoonRose]

Here's an idea .... 2 glass enclosed boxes, 1 with a cigarette smoker inside and 1 with a vaper inside. With camera rolling, both use their product of choice. What do you think the visual difference is going to be to everyone watching?

 

[afrazier5]

Here's an idea .... 2 glass enclosed boxes, 1 with a cigarette smoker inside and 1 with a vaper inside. With camera rolling, both use their product of choice. What do you think the visual difference is going to be to everyone watching?

Gimme the box and the most voluminous PV made and I'll sit there on camera

 

[CurlyBmore]

A few thoughts came to me while listening to the Utah hearings that I don't believe anyone has mentioned. If there is such a fear that candy like flavors will entice children and possibly lead to an overdose of nicotine, why are children's gummy vitamins allowed on the market and why are pharmacists allowed to add flavors such as cherry, grape, bubblegum, etc. to medicine. It seems contradictory to allow flavorings to entice children to take medicine or vitamins that they could mistake for a sweet drink or candy.

I also have not heard many mentions of the lower risk of children starting fires with matches or lighters and the decreased risk of fires from un-extinguished cigarettes or from people smoking in bed. I have not read through this entire thread so please forgive me if these ideas were already discussed.

 

[afrazier5]

Curly I think that is what the representative was getting at when he mentioned OTC medications but yes you are correct. In fact I had a cousin post on her FB that her son wasn't taking his medicine this week until she convinced him it tasted like candy. Hellooooo Isn't this the same thing???

 

[CurlyBmore]

Afrazier, I missed part of it due to the time difference and didn't catch that comment. I am knew to all of this-vaping and the politics involved. I was struck by the comments about them not wanting to be pushed around by the tobacco companies and that some of the people for the bill implied big tobacco was behind the e cigs. What is BT's stance, if any,on electric cigs. I would think they would be against them as even though tobacco is used for the juice, it would over all cut into their base of addicted smokers. I wasn't sure if there is any basis to the statements regarding tobacco companies or if it was just more uninformed bias.

 

[son et lumiere]

Im so glad this bill failed. I was really stressing out about it. I'm a BYU fan, I grew up a good part of my childhood in provo and went to some of BYU's activities. Have a parent and a step parent that graduated from BYU. They all support e cigs, I think next time a BYU student goes there they should talk to someone who is a leader of the LDS church and ask whether its supported or not.

 

[Demarko]

I've been having trouble with their website ever since I registered. Every time I log in I get some weird URL message. I'm afraid I'm not internet savvy enough to fix the problem.

Try a different browser, maybe? I had no problem with Chrome.

 

[Demarko]

Here's an idea .... 2 glass enclosed boxes, 1 with a cigarette smoker inside and 1 with a vaper inside. With camera rolling, both use their product of choice. What do you think the visual difference is going to be to everyone watching?

Casaa is starting a youtube channel. Doesn't even have to be an enclosed area, a medium sized room with windows closed will do! Or a car!

 

[afrazier5]

As long as it's not my car or enclosed area - my car finally is rid of the stench of tobacco!

 

[Traver]

CONSUMER ADVOCATES APPLAUD UTAH HOUSE COMMITTEE DECISION

I don't know if anyone has seen this but it's a great article for us. Elaine Keller and CASAA are both on the page.

 

[Thulium]

Afrazier, I missed part of it due to the time difference and didn't catch that comment. I am knew to all of this-vaping and the politics involved. I was struck by the comments about them not wanting to be pushed around by the tobacco companies and that some of the people for the bill implied big tobacco was behind the e cigs. What is BT's stance, if any,on electric cigs. I would think they would be against them as even though tobacco is used for the juice, it would over all cut into their base of addicted smokers. I wasn't sure if there is any basis to the statements regarding tobacco companies or if it was just more uninformed bias.

Good question. For the most part, tobacco companies have taken a "wait and see" approach to e-cigs, but in spite of resistance from the anti-smokers, many tobacco companies have shown interest in developing new products that are similar to e-cigarettes but most of their efforts to promote smoke-free alternatives have been with whole tobacco products like snus and dissolvables as past attempts to bring reduced toxicant cigarettes have been shot down by the FDA.

What many people don't realize is that the FDA and the pharma-funded anti-smoking industry have known for decades that switching from smoking cigarettes to smokeless tobacco reduces the risks of mortality by over 98% (according to the same numbers from the CDC that are used to justify the vilification of tobacco). The pharmaceutical and healthcare companies and their paid shills want the public to believe that tobacco companies are only interested in your money, and they are only interested in your health so the idea that tobacco companies could sell products that don't properly punish smokers for being unable or unwilling to stop using recreational tobacco products including nicotine.

Pay attention to the slippery words that the antis use: "We don't know what's in them." The only way to REALLY know what is in the vapor is to control what is put into the vaporizer, so what they are really saying is, "We don't CONTROL what is in them" but honesty threatens to expose their corruption so they choose their words carefully to make them sound scary. Unless you have SUBSTANTIAL evidence of actual harm, is it anyone else's business what a person chooses to eat, drink, or inhale??

 

[Vocalek]

CASAA has sent a follow-up email to the member of the Utah House Business and Labor Committee to correct the many erroneous statements made during the public hearing. Copies were also sent to the persons named in the message whose testimony was quoted. The text of this email has been posted as a News item on the CASAA web site.

CASAA.org

Copies were also sent to the Salt Lake City news outlets.

 

[Placebo Effect]

Excellent article Elaine and Yolanda

 

[kristin]

That is CASAA's official press release. Hopefully it'll get picked up by some news outlets!

CONSUMER ADVOCATES APPLAUD UTAH HOUSE COMMITTEE DECISION

I don't know if anyone has seen this but it's a great article for us. Elaine Keller and CASAA are both on the page.

 

[Traver]

What impressed me is that they imbedded the CASAA web site on the bottom of the page. Notice that all the CASAA links are workinmg. This is the CASAA website.

 

[kristin]

CASAA has an account with Online PR News for our press releases, which let's us create that page. I'm glad you like it!