I emailed the Maine Governor to basically complain. Here is the reply...
Thank you for contacting me about tobacco and e-cigarette use. I appreciate your views on this issue.
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, accounting for 20 percent of all deaths. In Maine, an estimated 2,400 adults die from smoking each year. Prior to the introduction of e-cigarettes, tobacco use among teenagers in Maine was steadily declining, but still ranked above the national average. According to the Campaign for tobacco-Free Kids, 8.7 percent of Maine high school students smoke cigarettes, while 15.8 percent use e-cigarettes. I am very concerned that e-cigarettes are just the latest effort by the tobacco companies to introduce kids to nicotine.
For these reasons I signed L.D. 1028, An Act To Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use with Adequate Funding and by Equalizing the Taxes on Tobacco Products and To Improve Public Health, which was approved with bipartisan support in the Legislature. This law equalizes the tax on all nicotine products at the existing 43 percent rate for cigarettes. The law sets aside more than $7 million of the annual revenue to be used for tobacco use prevention and cessation, including cessation medications and counseling provided by medical providers.
I have long fought to curb tobacco use in Maine. As Attorney General, I served as the Co-Chair of the Tobacco Committee of the National Association of Attorneys General where I worked on a bipartisan basis with other Attorneys Generals around the country to hold the tobacco industry accountable for the harm its products inflict. I urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate e-cigarettes like tobacco products and asked them to require stronger health warnings on e-cigarettes, prevent youth from purchasing e-cigarettes online, and ban flavors and other marketing techniques that target youth. While the FDA has taken some actions to regulate e-cigarettes, I believe they must regulate manufacturing, ensure consistency in enforcement, and prevent advertisers from targeting children.
It is critical that we protect Maine people, especially children, from the harm that is caused by tobacco and other nicotine containing products."
Thank you,
Janet T. Mills
Governor
Thank you for contacting me about tobacco and e-cigarette use. I appreciate your views on this issue.
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, accounting for 20 percent of all deaths. In Maine, an estimated 2,400 adults die from smoking each year. Prior to the introduction of e-cigarettes, tobacco use among teenagers in Maine was steadily declining, but still ranked above the national average. According to the Campaign for tobacco-Free Kids, 8.7 percent of Maine high school students smoke cigarettes, while 15.8 percent use e-cigarettes. I am very concerned that e-cigarettes are just the latest effort by the tobacco companies to introduce kids to nicotine.
For these reasons I signed L.D. 1028, An Act To Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use with Adequate Funding and by Equalizing the Taxes on Tobacco Products and To Improve Public Health, which was approved with bipartisan support in the Legislature. This law equalizes the tax on all nicotine products at the existing 43 percent rate for cigarettes. The law sets aside more than $7 million of the annual revenue to be used for tobacco use prevention and cessation, including cessation medications and counseling provided by medical providers.
I have long fought to curb tobacco use in Maine. As Attorney General, I served as the Co-Chair of the Tobacco Committee of the National Association of Attorneys General where I worked on a bipartisan basis with other Attorneys Generals around the country to hold the tobacco industry accountable for the harm its products inflict. I urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate e-cigarettes like tobacco products and asked them to require stronger health warnings on e-cigarettes, prevent youth from purchasing e-cigarettes online, and ban flavors and other marketing techniques that target youth. While the FDA has taken some actions to regulate e-cigarettes, I believe they must regulate manufacturing, ensure consistency in enforcement, and prevent advertisers from targeting children.
It is critical that we protect Maine people, especially children, from the harm that is caused by tobacco and other nicotine containing products."
Thank you,
Janet T. Mills
Governor
