Interesting that the show obviously only intended to give the supporting view of the bill and no opponents.
Lie #1:
tobacco companies are marketing little cigars to children because they come in flavors.
Lie #2: A "real tobacco smoker" would never want those flavors.
Lie #3: "Tobacco" is dangerous. (Not all tobacco is dangerous.)
Lie #4: These products are accessible to teenagers. (It's against the law to sell to minors, so no more accessible than cigarettes.)
Lie #5: Putting tobacco products behind the counter will reduce sales to youth. (They have to pay for it either way and a clerk handles the sale.)
Lie #6: Tobacco companies make them look like candy to lure children. (Pharma nicotine looks like gum and candy, too.)
Lie #7: Grandmother got cancer from being around friends who smoked. (Second-hand smoke lie.)
Lie #8: Snus and other tobacco products are sold next to candy in stores. (Has anyone even ever seen this done widely? I've never seen it done anywhere.)
Lie #9: There is no such thing as a safe tobacco product. (There's no such thing as 100% safe ANYTHING. But many tobacco products come pretty close.)
Lie #10: Tobacco is tobacco regardless of how it's ingested. (Smoking tobacco is very different than smoke-free tobacco. To ignore the difference is akin to saying, "A car is a car, regardless of whether or not the driver is drunk." True, but that little distinction may be of great concern to other drivers on the road!)
Lie #11: Tobacco products are more of a danger than alcohol to teens. (Far more teens are killed by alcohol than become smokers and die from smoking-related diseases.)
Lie #12: It's easier for teens to buy single cigars than other tobacco products. (Bull.)
Lie #13: For the first time more youth are using little cigars than cigarettes. (Yes, only because smoking of cigarettes is declining faster than smoking of cigars - but BOTH are DECLINING, not increasing.)
Lie #14: We aren't taking away access to adults. (Yet making them more expensive affects adults as well as youth.)
It's funny how all of these non-smokers know what smokers want. And the kid even admits that it comes down to the family to make sure kids don't use the products, because it's illegal to sell all tobacco and nicotine products to minors in Wisconsin.
He mentions a public hearing but I haven't seen any notice of one. The show was November 13th. As far as I know it still hasn't been discussed by the Committee and that was supposed to be the next step.
