Seattle Vapers Get The Needle
“It's not safe, it's highly addictive and you don't know what else is in it”
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by Dave Cross
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"It's not safe, it's highly addictive and you don't know what else is in it," said bill sponsor Gerry Pollet. The environmental activist and lawyer also lectures in public health at the University of Washington, which explains his thorough grasp of vaping. Indicating that he sees a clear link between smoking and vaping, he continues: “Every time we raised the price of cigarettes we reduced youth smoking.”
So, what are Pollet and his colleagues proposing? Firstly, that all electronic cigarette vendors would have to apply for a special licence to carry out business. The licence would be fee-based and incur additional costs to small businesses. Next, they will insist all juice manufacturers provide a full contents list. It is mooted that this may even go so far as to cover the constituents of the vapour.
But it’s the remaining two points that will impact most heavily on vaping in the State. They are seeking a total ban on all flavours apart from tobacco and, outrageously, wishing to impose a NINETY FIVE PERCENT tax rate on all vaping items. In an attempt to justify the sheer idiocy of the legislation, Pollet said: “The tobacco industry views vaping as a way to create a new generation of nicotine addicts.”
Washington vapers and ecig business owners were furious at the proposals. As news spread about the nonsensical plan to crush vaping across the state they congregated at a public hearing of the bill. One after another they gave testimony to the efficacy of vaping as a way out of the grip of cigarettes and Big Tobacco, emphasising that the electronic cigarette industry is, by and large, made up of independent business with no connection to the tobacco business
Emily Murphy, vaper and former smoker, said: “For so many adults this has been a life-changing intervention,” and explained how ecigs successfully helped her to quit. She, and the hundreds of others, explained to lawmakers how the proposals would limit access to ecigs, make them ridiculously expensive and that adults like flavours in their liquids. As we have covered here on POTV, research has demonstrated that sweet flavours are more popular in the USA than here in Europe.
Olympia Vapor’s owner Andy Kibler told the gathered masses how the number one seller to adults in his store was bubble-gum flavoured juice. Even if he were willing to pay for a special licence and a higher tax band he drew the line at the other proposals. “Eliminating flavours and raising taxes to 95 percent would cause my business to shut down and send customers back to cigarettes,” he said. "It really seems like about an atom bomb approach.”
Amusingly, Gerry Pollet campaigns on a ticket supporting fairness and public education.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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