No “nanny” laws on vaping
“We’re not trying to take away your (adult) rights, we’re here to protect the children,” Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith was quoted saying, in an online article published by KOIN-TV News. She is referring to proposed new Oregon state legislation regarding vape, or electronic cigarette, use. Since “vaping” has become a sweeping trend in our community, lawmakers have been quick to pounce on it. Multnomah County lawmakers quickly proposed eight new bills for the Oregon Legislature, including House Bill 2546 which appears to be moving forward.
That bill would banish vaping from any building where traditional tobacco smoking is not allowed, and prohibit anyone under age 18 from buying or owning an inhalant delivery system.
The commissioners, and other lawmakers, claim that they are not trying to take away rights, but rather, protect children. Among the buildings where one cannot vape happen to be vape shops themselves. This prevents anyone from being able to test the products before making a purchase. We wonder, exactly how is this specifically going to protect public health and prevent kids from inhaling flavored vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol liquid? If that sounds shady, refrain from reading the (known) carcinogenic material on the ingredients list of your Diet Coke. Although nicotine is a fair cause for concern, we don’t believe there are any logical reasons for not exempting vape shops from this ban.
As young editors with astute minds, we sense the same sort of “nanny state” attitude that lawmakers have about many things, including marijuana, birth control – and, ironically – the politically averse gun control issue.
Sometimes, our individual sense of freedom can be diluted in the name of protecting the community.
As of late, there is no substantial evidence that there are negative effects to secondhand “smoke” from vaping. People who are using vapes to curb their cigarette habits are suffering the greatest drawbacks from avoiding “health consequences” lawmakers .aren’t even sure of, yet. Vapers are seeing the convenience of, and accessibility to, their alternative habits being constrained. While we don’t quite find it necessary to fight back against the newly adopted policy, we think the vape industry has every reason to challenge the policy that prevents consumers from testing their products.
If there aren’t any valid reasons to pass “nanny” laws on vaping, there has to be some reason why politicians are so vehement about the issue We have a hypothesis: Multnomah County (and every other county) collects x amount of taxes on every traditional cigarette pack sold. It would make sense why the county would do anything possible to make sure people continue to rely on cigs and chew – rather than let them flock to vaping. Regardless if it’s sharp practice or sincere pro-activity for health, we concur that the laws that intend to ban vaping almost everywhere – especially inside vape shops – are unwise, and unfounded in logic.
Her children are named RJR and Glaxo, and she will lie, cheat and steal for them.
Adult smokers have a right to choose a healthier alternative to the proven killers, burned tobacco cigarettes. If Big Tobacco, Pharma and government don’t like that, they are barking up the wrong tobacco plant. No matter how wealthy a corporate entity may be, they need consumers to get that way. Consumers. That is us.
Boycott Big Tobacco cigalikes – we just don’t know what’s in those, but we know the companies that added stuff to cigarettes to make them more toxic/addictive would have no constraints on doing that, especially if they manage to get governments to ban their more effective competition.
If you really want to make BT go cold turkey forever, support harm reduction and your local vape shop. Plus those devices actually work, instead of keeping people dual using as the Big Tobacco cigalikes intend to do. I think all the bogus studies – except where they burned the atty to get measurable formaldehyde – were done on Big Tobacco cigalikes, which probably DO have metal in them.
And I think we former smokers know alot more about vaping, smoking, what’s effective, and being nicotine dependent than the clueless ones who want to call us Big Tobacco (how insulting) or – even worse – the soulless, greedy authority figures I used to (try to) trust. Big Pharma is losing even more money, and is, imo, far more hypocritical than Big Tobacco pretending to care about our health while keeping death sticks on sale. Because they plainly do not wish to hear from, look at, or acknowledge the real people they claim to be helping as anything other than bothersome astroturf. So Big Tobacco – and our state governments protecting cigarettes – are heinous, and we know it.
But the public health pushers are worse, because they know we are telling the truth, and they are deliberately scaring smokers into staying on the death sticks, just so they can peddle patches with the same danged nicotine in them – only you can’t tailor the amounts.
Okay, rambling. Looking forward to the karma that will fall upon the heads of these greedy creeps.
Beautiful.