UPDATE - Missouri - Call to Action - Override Governor's veto of ban on sales to minors

[JustJulie]

URGENT! CASAA has issued a Call to Action for MISSOURI, asking vapers and harm reduction advocates to contact their legislators to request that Governor Nixon's veto of SB 841 be overturned during the veto session beginning September 10th, 2014.

While SB 841 enjoyed strong bipartisan support when it was passed earlier this year, e-cigarette opponents are pressuring legislators to not challenge Governor Nixon's veto. Their intention is to push for stronger legislation next year that would tax e-cigarettes like combustible cigarettes and ban their use in public places. They feel that if sales to minors are banned now, that will make it more difficult for them to pursue their anti-e-cigarette agenda next session. Meanwhile, they appear content to allow Missouri children to continue to purchase e-cigarettes (while at the same time demanding that e-cigarettes be regulated to protect the children).

Please see the Missouri Call to Action for information on how you can help. The Call to Action includes a link to the CQ Roll Call campaign for Missouri.

CASAA: Call to Action! Missouri: Ask Your Legislators to Override Governor Nixon's Veto of SB 841 (Ban on Sales of E-Cigarettes to Minors)

 

[bigdancehawk]

Quite a few people don't know who their state legislators are. Here are links for looking them up by entering your zip code:

Missouri Senate - Legislator Lookup

Missouri House of Representatives

 

[AndriaD]

Here's what I'm wondering: is it any use, will it do any good, for non-Missourans to participate in this CTA, or would non-Missourans even be allowed to participate in it? I don't want to be one of those people who think 'it doesn't affect ME so I don't care.' In point of fact, I think legislation like this affects ALL vapers, whether we live in that particular state or not -- it creates a trend, a precedent. But I'm not sure if a non-resident would have any sway, or even be allowed to participate.

Thx!
Andria

 

[bigdancehawk]

Here's what I'm wondering: is it any use, will it do any good, for non-Missourans to participate in this CTA, or would non-Missourans even be allowed to participate in it? I don't want to be one of those people who think 'it doesn't affect ME so I don't care.' In point of fact, I think legislation like this affects ALL vapers, whether we live in that particular state or not -- it creates a trend, a precedent. But I'm not sure if a non-resident would have any sway, or even be allowed to participate.

Thx!
Andria

Agreed, and there's nothing to prevent you from participating and there would certainly be no harm in doing so. When one state does something stupid, other states often follow suit.

EDIT: Here is the kind of idiocy my local rag is publishing about this veto on its editorial page:

A sneaky piece of legislation intended to help tobacco companies.

Senate Bill 841 bans the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors. No problem there; in fact the federal government is expected to do the same thing in the near future. But the bill also says that electronic cigarettes and related products “shall not be taxed or otherwise regulated as tobacco products.”

Ah, ha. So that’s why Reynolds American Tobacco lobbied hard for the bill, handing donations as high as $12,000 to key legislative leaders to grease the path. They want to sell a tobacco-like product that may very well encourage people to take up the real thing, and act as though they are peddling candy bars.

This is cookie-cutter legislation being pushed in multiple states by tobacco companies. The health effects of electronic cigarettes require much more study. It is much too early to exempt them from regulations.

Read more here: http://www**.kansascity.**com/opinion/editorials/article1603748.html#storylink=cpy

 

[AndriaD]

I see your "local rag" has drunk the ANTZ koolaid.

Maybe this has gotten thru to me more than similar legislation in CA, or one of the other states so distant from GA, because my husband is from Missouri, so I tend to notice anything in the news about it more than I would some other state -- same for Michigan, as I lived there for 5 yrs.

I'll go see what needs to be done for this CTA; even if they think someone from elsewhere has nothing much at stake in this, it will be at least one more voice of reason. And god knows we need every last one of those we can dig up.

Andria

 

[AndriaD]

Ok, it looks like the CQ Rollcall program will only send things to one's own elected officials, so I can't participate directly thru that medium. I don't know if it's possible to get hold of email addresses for lawmakers, but I could try to get them for ALL of MO's lawmakers, and send that same msg to them all, independently of the CQ rollcall thingie.

Andria

EDIT: Actually it was easier to do this than I expected -- CASAA had all the addresses in a comma-delimited list, so very easy to copy and paste. Message sent, with my own edits as suggested.

 

[JustJulie]

VICTORY in Missouri! Thanks to the hard work of Bistate Regional Advocates for Vaping Education (BRAVE), both the Missouri Senate and House have voted to override Governor Nixon's veto of Senate Bill 841. Missouri now joins the majority of states which ban sales of e-cigarettes to minors. In addition, SB 841 provides that e-cigarettes are not subject to the same taxation or regulation as combustible cigarettes.

This common-sense law protects children while at the same time ensuring that e-cigarettes remain available and affordable for adult smokers looking for a low-risk, smoke-free alternative.

Advocacy Group Praises Legislature for Override of E-Cig Veto  - Bistate Regional Advocates for Vaping Education

 

[AndriaD]

Well now I'm really glad I emailed all those MO lawmakers. Dunno if it made the slightest diff to THEM, but maybe it lets them know that other eyes are watching, not just MO residents.

Way to go, MO!

Andria