Ecig Critic

Armstrong Atlantic State University is imposing a new policy that will ban all forms of tobacco including cigarettes, pipes, cigars, chewing tobacco electronic cigarettes and other tobacco products.  This new policy covers not only students but teachers as well.

They have a Tobacco Control Task Force that is made up of Students, Faculty and Staff members.  The policy was put in place by the Student Government Association.

Read the complete article here from Savannah Morning News.

New Mexico has a proposed bill that will increase the taxes on tobacco products other than cigarettes such as cigars and smokeless cigarettes from 25% to 57% of the products value.  This comes on the heels of the bill proposed by Hawaii to massively increase the taxes on its electronic cigarettes.

The worrisome part is it’s possible effect on electronic cigarettes:

Perhaps more significant is the bill’s expanded definition of “tobacco products,” which would be redefined to include “any product containing tobacco that is intended or expected to be consumed without being combusted, unless it has been approved by the United States food and drug administration as a tobacco use cessation product and is being marketed and sold for that approved purpose.”  This could arguably cover electronic cigarettes, which generally contain a tobacco solution that is consumed without being combusted.

This is the trend others have worried about.  Read the full article here from Tobacco Law Blog.

Rachael Ray discusses electronic cigarettes with guest doctor Dr. Ian Smith.  Then Dr Vapor, a pro e-cigarette profile and physician as well, posts and comments on the show.  He does a better job than I in discussing Rachael Ray and her gust doctor, so check it out.

Wired, a popular electronics and gadgets magazine, also has its own Podcast.  This week they covered a variety of topics from the quality of audio according to Neil Young, 3D food printing (wow), Facebook’s big IPO (initial pupil offering or when their shares can be traded on wall street, for those who might not know) and electronic cigarettes!

The hosts, Mike Issac (who is a smoker) and Michael Calore, weigh in on there thoughts on the disposable e-cigarette Square.  Mike Issac is the one who was given the task of reviewing the e-cig and since he was new to the e-cig world, it was refreshing to hear an outsiders perspective.  I’m curious to see how he feels about them in about a week or two or if he continues to use them for that matter.

Heck out the video.

There are times when reading the news makes you take notice and be amazed.  That moment happened for me the morning of February 1st, 2012 when I read about a growing leader in the electronic cigarette world speak out against the slew of proposed e-cig bans and tax increases.  Not only did they speak out, but they did so with well thought out direction and a strong clear tone that left no mistake how they felt about the swirling sea of state legislated discussions that have been taking ever increasing aggressive stances against e-cigs.

The rising tide of unsupported criticism that is building due to this movement seems to have pushed blu Cigs, one of the largest distributors and manufacturers of electronic cigarettes, into putting there proverbial “foot down” and speak out against these stinging allegations.

blu Cigs … is firing back against false broad-based claims, including those that allege all e-cig companies are marketing to minors. As lawmakers use this new tack in an attempt to vilify an entire industry, blu has taken proactive precautions to ensure minors cannot purchase its e-cigarettes – using the same process that alcohol and tobacco companies must mandatorily use to verify age for all online and phone purchases, each and every time.

… blu does not offer flavors with traditional adolescent appeal like fruit punch, bubble gum, or chocolate.

Jason Healy, President of blu Cigs comments, “We maintain the absolute highest standards when it comes to the retailers we choose, so to make these false accusations and call them out as irresponsible when it comes to e-cigarette sales is negligent. Our retail partners operate to the highest standard – and aggressively I.D. all customers for each and every sale. …  Federal and state governments claim that high taxes on e-cigs are designed to price out consumers, but these increases are purely based on fiscal reasons, and completely contrary to consumer health advocacy … If consumer health is their primary concern, as it should be, then premature bans and tax hikes are not in the public’s best interest.”

A 2010 study co-authored by Dr. Michael Siegel of Boston University’s School of Public Health actually concluded that e-cigarettes are safer than tobacco cigarettes, and have the potential to become a smoking cessation device.

Read the article here at marketwatch.com.

Advocates of electronic cigarettes are taking to Facebook to urge Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard to “keep his promise” and veto smoking ban proposal that will be arriving in his office on Thursday morning.  Facebook comments have been mounting as the hour draws near for the Mayor to make his choice.

The proposal will not only expand the current cigarette ban to include bars, but will lump electronic cigarettes in with regular cigarettes and ban them as well from most public places.

Most of the posts listed are actually urging him to pass the bill, while a strong few are begging him to veto it.

Mayor Ballard is taking issue with an exemption for private clubs and veteran halls that can keep their smokey environment if they keep kids off the premises.

A sample from the many pro-signing messages:

I urge you to please pass the smoking ban! As a former bar employee I do not miss waking up with a tightness in my chest, dry eyes, and a cough I did not have before or have had since. Why would you deny so many a healthy working environment just because of the activities of a few private clubs? Look at this ban as a step forward. The private club and e-cigarette issues can be changed in the future if necessary. — Laura Keith.

And here’s one expressing a different view:

Mayor Ballard, please keep your promise to veto proposal 18 as it is unfair to include the use of e-cigarettes with true cigarettes…..I smoked for 35 years, 2 packs a day but new that it was slowly killing me…..my wife and I switched to e-cigs 2 1/2 years ago after trying every FDA approved method that is out there. The e-cig worked for us instantly and we don’t have to ingest the 4000+ chemicals that are in cigarettes….thank you for your time and please veto Prop. 18. — Brian Deel.

Read the entire article here at blogs.indystar.com.

An article at www.policymic.com shows how legislators may be doing more harm than good:

Last week, Hawaii’s state legislature introduced two bills that would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and tax the devices at 70% of their wholesale price, the same rate as tobacco products.

Calling this a misguided effort is as usual an understatement in all of these news articles regarding electronic cigarettes these days.  Hiding this under the umbrella of “Protecting the youth” is typical of politics.  Most smokers of electronic cigarettes do not want these in the hands of the youth of the world.  By waving these fearful ideas at the public, they feel safe from any repercussions from the public if they covertly apply outrageous laws and policies on something.

Now taking into account that they mean the best, hear is my favorite part of this article, and oh is it so true, that is a quote from Michael Siegel:

Boston University public health professor Michael Siegel also highlighted the problem with the legislation’s justification, explaining that “the anti-smoking ideologues would advise victims of a shipwreck not to use the lifeboats because they haven’t been fully tested to ensure their safety. And if thousands of victims of that shipwreck were successfully keeping afloat because of the lifeboats, the anti-smoking ideologues would advise them to abandon the lifeboats and stick to ‘government approved’ survival methods.”

And how about this bit of juicy info:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also concluded two years ago that e-cigs contain far fewer carcinogens than traditional cigarettes.

Hawaii’s proposal to classify and tax e-cigs as tobacco products will also create some dangerous unintended consequences. Much research suggests that taxing tobacco raises its price and discourages its consumption. In this case, however, the state would be discouraging consumption of one of tobacco’s safer competitors. This is very troubling because lower prices relative to cigarettes provide an incentive for smokers to switch to e-cigs. Worse, the impact won’t be restricted to the islands. One of the major suppliers of e-cigs, a company called Volcano, is based in Hawaii. As a result of the tax, retailers around the country supplied by Volcano would be forced to raise their prices — or stop selling e-cigs altogether. The result, then, would be even fewer smokers giving up traditional cigarettes.

Now, keeping these out of the hands of children, I’m all for, as are all smokers I’m sure.  But purposely keeping smokers from them, keeping smokers on, wait how did the author put it:

Given that smoking kills over 400,000 people annually, as proponents of the Hawaii legislation admit, their fear that e-cigs could be harmful is entirely misplaced. Tobacco is clearly the real killer here. The bills’ proponents are doubly wrong on this point because they attempt to associate the risks of tobacco use with e-cigs, which do not contain tobacco. They also claim that e-cigs could serve as a “gateway” to the use of other more dangerous tobacco products, even though the overwhelming effect of e-cigs has been to reduce tobacco use.

Well said, Cameron Science.  Well said indeed.  Then why are they against it?  I truly hope they are just really misguided politicians and not greedy, in-the-pocket-of-big-tobacco law makers that we trust to do whats best for us.  Here is my hope:  Please let them be ignorant and misguided, that hopefully can learn and grow and get back on the right course and not uncaring money hungry, I’ll-let-people-rot-just-so-they-can-make-a-quick-buck types.