Wisconsin Opposes Smoke Free Electronic Cigarettes

[Christopher]

http://wivapers.blogspot.com/2009/11/smoke-free-wisconsin-opposes-smoke-free.html

[Brian]

http://wivapers.blogspot.com/2009/11/smoke-free-wisconsin-opposes-smoke-free.html

Good post. Still amazes me that the FDA has launched a propaganda war. They have an agenda and don't want to hear anything good about ecigs.

[keenan]

Awesome, another small voice in a vast ocean speaks the truth. This is the quote that EVERY opponent must read -

"If the majority of users were substituting e-cigarettes for FDA-approved smoking cessation products, perhaps e-cigarettes would deserve to be treated like other nicotine-delivery devices. But the nicotine-delivery devices that e-cigarette users have given up are tobacco cigarettes. They are not using e-cigarettes because of any outrageous health claims on the part of retailers. They are using them because, unlike the FDA-approved smoking cessation products, these work. "

I hope the truth eventually finds the path to these nay-sayers doors.

[Jeffb]

Anti**** (fill in the blank with your group of choice) advocates need something to oppose. That is their reason for existence. The antismoking groups have done a good job, and rightfully so, in informing the public on the hazards of smoking. Now they are on to the next product to oppose. It seems their main concern is the nicotine. This is a valid concern since you can die from an overdose of nicotine. But someone would have to intentionally consume mass quantities to od. I believe a middle ground has to be reached. Right now the pro-ecig groups and the anti-ecig groups are circling their wagons and getting ready for a fight. But I believe there is some common ground that both groups should come together on. In my mind they are:

1.) Restrict the age to purchase e-cig products to 18 years old and above

2.) Verification that products are not hazardous

The knee jerk reaction from the FDA, legislators and antismoking groups is just to ban them altogether. The obvious reaction from us is "keep your hands off my e-cigs" My e-cig is part of my life now, and the thought of someone wanting to take away something I derive pleasure from, makes me both mad & scared. I get scared because I don't wanna go back to analogs. If e-cig products are banned I will have no choice. I think everyone needs to step back and take a breath and keep an open mind. It's easy for these groups to oppose the big companies that make e-cigs. There's no emotional connection involved. I believe thats where we come in as your average citizen. We put an actual face to the e-cig community. We are the ambassadors.

[SmokinHammer]

It's amazing how much I love my home town (Milwaukee) and sometimes hate the state it's in. Out west in the "Peoples Republic of Madison," where political groups fight endlessly to save everyone from everything all of the time, exists Smoke Free Wisconsin. A group that, apparently, doesn't know the difference between smoke and vapor. I mostly knew them for their efforts to raise analog prices in Wisconsin. (They have been very good at that) Fortunately, I haven't spent a cent on analogs in more than a month. After reading their blog on the USA Today site, I decided to send them this...

Dear friends at Smoke Free Wisconsin,

My name is John Richards. I am a professional carpenter living in Milwaukee. I am an amateur photographer and currently I am serving as the president of the Riverwest Artists Association. I am 44 years old, and I started smoking approximately 22 years ago. I have quit a few times, using various products, but have always gone back to tobacco cigarettes.

Recently, I found a blog on the USA Today site, which was apparently written by your Policy and Grassroots Specialist, Erich Pitcher. It contained some points on what he, and, I assume, Smoke Free Wisconsin, feel are the dangers of electronic cigarettes. I am frankly offended by and concerned with the position you have taken. Calling yourself an organization with a single focus, "reducing tobacco use in Wisconsin," and then using your time and resources to malign a product that 1) contains no tobacco, and 2) actually works to help thousands of people use something other than tobacco cigarettes is, in my opinion, a way for you to lose credibility with anyone who has done their own research into the use of an e-cigarette.

I am not an ignorant man, I have made my own decision to use electronic cigarettes. As a result, I have not smoked a tobacco cigarette in 4 weeks, and have no desire to. I would like to explain to you what I have found in my own research, while going through some of the points of Mr. Pitcher's post.

Most e-cigarettes are made in China, the source of lead-tainted toys and melamine-laced dog food.

I'm shocked that Mr. Pitcher didn't point out that China is also a communist country that has a very questionable human rights record. If you're going to use scare tactics, you might as well go all out.

When the FDA randomly tested the nicotine cartridges, it discovered carcinogens and a toxic chemical found in anti-freeze.

Carcinogens? My alternative to electronic cigarettes is tobacco cigarettes, and you think I'm worried about carcinogens in e-cigs? Toxic chemical's? I must, again, assume something here, because Mr. Pitcher has "conveniently" not named the chemical. Propylene Glycol is commonly used in e-cig fluid. It is also a food additive, a moisturizer in medicines, cosmetics, toothpaste and mouth wash, and an emulsification agent in Angostura bitters. I hope, for your sake, that Wisconsinites do not find out that you have a problem with a necessary ingredient for a properly made Brandy Old Fashioned.

Still, the most worrisome ingredient is nicotine itself.

I simply do not understand your point here. Nicotine is, obviously, found in tobacco cigarettes. They are legal, and, no matter how high the prices go, I can afford to smoke. Nicotine has been, with some credence, vilified by anti-smoking groups. It is a drug, and an addictive one at that; but, it is one that I choose to use. I also use caffeine and alcohol. Someday, I will die, from something. While I am alive, I would like to be free to make choices involving what I think, what I do, and what I consume. Again, my alternative to e-cigs, is tobacco cigarettes.

When I was young, my mother had a very large garden. One summer, she became so ill that my father had to take her to the emergency room. The doctor found out that she'd eaten an extraordinary amount of tomatoes in the previous few days, and told her she was having a reaction to the nicotine. I have not searched for an organization called, "Tomato Free Wisconsin." I don't think I will bother.

E-cigarettes come in flavors — from traditional menthol to chocolate and strawberry — that might lure curious youngsters and prompt them to move on to the real thing. Distributors say their product is for adults only, but who's to stop young people from buying it?

I like many of the fruit flavors, as well as the caramel and coffee flavors, and I am an adult who is able to legally buy and enjoy them. I have a 17 year old daughter. Who will stop her from buying e-cigs? The same people who keep her from buying alcohol, and tobacco now... me, and her mother.

Despite protests from the Electronic Cigarette Association that its members don't make claims about helping smokers quit, plenty of sellers make far more outrageous health claims. In recent weeks, one marketer claimed e-cigarettes reduce the risk of heart disease and touted an endorsement by a physician-and-nurses group. Another website, which says it reviews e-cigarettes, went them one better: It claims, based on a 1942 study, that an ingredient in e-cigarettes could prevent flu and other respiratory diseases.

I wonder if you bothered to talk to anyone who has started using e-cigs and, as a result, stopped smoking tobacco cigarettes, or if you've researched any statements by professional health care providers. You seem to be implying that no doctor or nurse could ever approve of the use of an e-cig. I have not found that to be the case.

The real point that I would like to make about this statement is that you are fooling yourself if you do not realize that you are using the same tactics. You are just on the other side of the argument.

If you would like to talk to someone who uses electronic cigarettes, and as a result, has stopped smoking tobacco cigarettes, please contact me using any of the information provided below. I look forward to an intelligent and fair discussion.

Sincerely,

John Richards

[nana]

At this moment I am giving you a standing ovation!!!! Very well said, great information, intelligent sounding, politely put, good points, and downright impressive.

[Brian]

At this moment I am giving you a standing ovation!!!! Very well said, great information, intelligent sounding, politely put, good points, and downright impressive.

What she said! Excellent!

[keenan]

Mr. Richards - Sir, I bow to you ! I have read DOZENS of letters, even written a few myself, and that is by FAR the best, bar none. How ANYONE with one scintella of brain matter could argue ANY of the points you made is beyond me. Back when Tommy Jefferson wrote that little document called the Declaration of Independence, the other members of Congress stood back and said " Yupper, thats the one we'll use". Well, as far as Im concerned, YOUR letter should be the template for our cause. I seriously doubt anyone could say it better ! Bravo sir !

P.S. - This line actually made me jump out of my chair and yell "OOOOH RAHHH !!!!"

"I have a 17 year old daughter. Who will stop her from buying e-cigs? The same people who keep her from buying alcohol, and tobacco now... me, and her mother."

[NeRo9k]

Great article. She made well written points to convey her position.

[Luke]

It's amazing how much I love my home town (Milwaukee) and sometimes hate the state it's in. Out west in the "Peoples Republic of Madison," where political groups fight endlessly to save everyone from everything all of the time, exists Smoke Free Wisconsin. A group that, apparently, doesn't know the difference between smoke and vapor. I mostly knew them for their efforts to raise analog prices in Wisconsin. (They have been very good at that) Fortunately, I haven't spent a cent on analogs in more than a month. After reading their blog on the USA Today site, I decided to send them this...

Dear friends at Smoke Free Wisconsin,

My name is John Richards. I am a professional carpenter living in Milwaukee. I am an amateur photographer and currently I am serving as the president of the Riverwest Artists Association. I am 44 years old, and I started smoking approximately 22 years ago. I have quit a few times, using various products, but have always gone back to tobacco cigarettes.

Recently, I found a blog on the USA Today site, which was apparently written by your Policy and Grassroots Specialist, Erich Pitcher. It contained some points on what he, and, I assume, Smoke Free Wisconsin, feel are the dangers of electronic cigarettes. I am frankly offended by and concerned with the position you have taken. Calling yourself an organization with a single focus, "reducing tobacco use in Wisconsin," and then using your time and resources to malign a product that 1) contains no tobacco, and 2) actually works to help thousands of people use something other than tobacco cigarettes is, in my opinion, a way for you to lose credibility with anyone who has done their own research into the use of an e-cigarette.

I am not an ignorant man, I have made my own decision to use electronic cigarettes. As a result, I have not smoked a tobacco cigarette in 4 weeks, and have no desire to. I would like to explain to you what I have found in my own research, while going through some of the points of Mr. Pitcher's post.

Most e-cigarettes are made in China, the source of lead-tainted toys and melamine-laced dog food.

I'm shocked that Mr. Pitcher didn't point out that China is also a communist country that has a very questionable human rights record. If you're going to use scare tactics, you might as well go all out.

When the FDA randomly tested the nicotine cartridges, it discovered carcinogens and a toxic chemical found in anti-freeze.

Carcinogens? My alternative to electronic cigarettes is tobacco cigarettes, and you think I'm worried about carcinogens in e-cigs? Toxic chemical's? I must, again, assume something here, because Mr. Pitcher has "conveniently" not named the chemical. Propylene Glycol is commonly used in e-cig fluid. It is also a food additive, a moisturizer in medicines, cosmetics, toothpaste and mouth wash, and an emulsification agent in Angostura bitters. I hope, for your sake, that Wisconsinites do not find out that you have a problem with a necessary ingredient for a properly made Brandy Old Fashioned.

Still, the most worrisome ingredient is nicotine itself.

I simply do not understand your point here. Nicotine is, obviously, found in tobacco cigarettes. They are legal, and, no matter how high the prices go, I can afford to smoke. Nicotine has been, with some credence, vilified by anti-smoking groups. It is a drug, and an addictive one at that; but, it is one that I choose to use. I also use caffeine and alcohol. Someday, I will die, from something. While I am alive, I would like to be free to make choices involving what I think, what I do, and what I consume. Again, my alternative to e-cigs, is tobacco cigarettes.

When I was young, my mother had a very large garden. One summer, she became so ill that my father had to take her to the emergency room. The doctor found out that she'd eaten an extraordinary amount of tomatoes in the previous few days, and told her she was having a reaction to the nicotine. I have not searched for an organization called, "Tomato Free Wisconsin." I don't think I will bother.

E-cigarettes come in flavors — from traditional menthol to chocolate and strawberry — that might lure curious youngsters and prompt them to move on to the real thing. Distributors say their product is for adults only, but who's to stop young people from buying it?

I like many of the fruit flavors, as well as the caramel and coffee flavors, and I am an adult who is able to legally buy and enjoy them. I have a 17 year old daughter. Who will stop her from buying e-cigs? The same people who keep her from buying alcohol, and tobacco now... me, and her mother.

Despite protests from the Electronic Cigarette Association that its members don't make claims about helping smokers quit, plenty of sellers make far more outrageous health claims. In recent weeks, one marketer claimed e-cigarettes reduce the risk of heart disease and touted an endorsement by a physician-and-nurses group. Another website, which says it reviews e-cigarettes, went them one better: It claims, based on a 1942 study, that an ingredient in e-cigarettes could prevent flu and other respiratory diseases.

I wonder if you bothered to talk to anyone who has started using e-cigs and, as a result, stopped smoking tobacco cigarettes, or if you've researched any statements by professional health care providers. You seem to be implying that no doctor or nurse could ever approve of the use of an e-cig. I have not found that to be the case.

The real point that I would like to make about this statement is that you are fooling yourself if you do not realize that you are using the same tactics. You are just on the other side of the argument.

If you would like to talk to someone who uses electronic cigarettes, and as a result, has stopped smoking tobacco cigarettes, please contact me using any of the information provided below. I look forward to an intelligent and fair discussion.

Sincerely,

John Richards

Just wow, good for you!

Luke

[crossbar]

Love it! Great job!

[Wompa1]

Hammer, that Letter is Classic, how you can have a crime against yourself in a free country is beyond me. Great original post too, spectacular stuff.

I cant stand the "It's appealing to Kids" argument. For one, It's MY responsibility to guide my kids into the right choices. That aside, even as a Price Sensitive consumer (cheap skate) I cant imagine spending less than say $100.00 your first month, and likely a lot more. When i was 15, you would be more likely to find Yellow Cake Uranium in my pocket than benjamin franklin... Besides there is a lot cooler things you can get with $100.00 than an E-cig, unless ofcourse you want to quit smoking!!!.

[dizzyizz]

Right on!