To the Members of the California State Senate:
I am returning Senate Bill 400 without my signature.
While I support restricting access of electronic cigarettes to children under the age of 18, I cannot sign a measure that also declares them a federally regulated drug when the matter is currently being decided through pending litigation.
Items defined as tobacco products are legal for anyone over the age of 18. If adults want to purchase and consume these products with an understanding of the associated health risks, they should be able to do so unless and until federal law changes the legal status of these tobacco products.
For this reason, I am unable to sign this bill.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
"I believe it shows wisdom on the Governors part by understanding that just because an arm of the government "declares" something illegal does not in fact mean that it is illegal and should be banned. We applaud the Governor for acting on the understanding that the FDA does not have the ability to "declare a law", but rather, they are an instrument and enforcement arm of the laws that are made and decided on by our judicial system and lawmakers" says Ellis, " It is about time a high level politician stood up for the rights of the people of the United States, and not for government and special interest."
Only time will tell if the lawmakers of California will get the message from the people and the governor and halt any attempts at banning e cigarettes prior to a federal ruling, or pushing for a 2/3 vote to override the governor and the people of California.
Enough is enough, the Danish have said in response to calls for a total smoking ban in Holland.
The government has denied attempts to extend restriction on smokers.
This came about as a response to a suggestion to ban smoking rooms in hospitals.
According to the blog Velvet Glove Iron First, Danish health speaker said smokers were being harassed and; "Nobody is going to die, because they smell a little smoke. We must have places for the Danish smokers."
Tue Sep 29, 7:40 AM
The province said in a news release it is seeking damages "for past and ongoing health care costs linked to tobacco-related illness."
"Ontario is taking the next step towards recovering taxpayer dollars spent fighting tobacco-related illnesses. We are joining British Columbia and New Brunswick in initiating a lawsuit to recover health care costs from tobacco companies," said Attorney General Chris Bentley.
The $50 billion figure represents the cost the province says it has footed for providing health care to smokers since 1955.
On Thursday, September 10, 2009, an ad-hoc group of electronic cigarette users, calling themselves the Alliance of Electronic Smokers, filed an amicus brief in the litigation against the FDA by two electronic cigarette suppliers.
Here is the information regarding their brief:
MOTION OF ALLIANCE OF ELECTRONIC SMOKERS FOR LEAVE TO PARTICIPATE AND FILE BRIEF AS AMICUS CURIAE
The Alliance of Electronic Smokers (AES), as an interested nonparty, respectfully moves the Court for leave to participate and file a brief as amicus curiae in this litigation in support of Plaintiff’s and Intervenor-Plaintiffs’ Motions for Preliminary Injunction.
ARGUMENT
As set forth in greater detail in the accompanying Brief of Amicus Curiae, AES is an ad hoc group consisting of current consumers of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) that would like to preserve their current choice of tobacco products – a right that is being eliminated by the efforts of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) improperly to exert regulatory authority over e-cigarettes. AES and its members are concerned that their right to choose a preferred vehicle for smoking pleasure could be infringed based on the outcome of the present case. Accordingly, AES and its members have significant interests in the outcome of this litigation. Moreover, AES believes that its perspective would be helpful to the Court in evaluating the merits of this matter. In particular, AES responds to points raised in the submissions by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), which this court has granted permission to appear as amicus curiae. AES is including as Exhibit A hereto its proposed amicus brief with this motion.
Because the proposed brief responds to points raised in ASH’s previous submissions in this matter, AES believes its participation will not prejudice any party. Pursuant to Local Rule 7(m), undersigned counsel has conferred by telephone with counsel for the Plaintiff and Intervenor Plaintiff, and they do not oppose this Motion. Also, AES conferred with counsel for Defendants regarding their consent and, as of the time of this filing, was still waiting for a response
For a continually updated report on the legalities regarding the electronic cigarette, please feel free to check in on this page here
E-cigarettes (electronic cigarettes) could be dangerous to your health! Recent tests by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) found that two popular brands of e-cigarettes contained carcinogens and other dangerous substances. Yet some companies that market e-cigarettes claims they are not as harmful as traditional cigarettes. What's worse, e-cigarettes are often marketed and sold to young people - even children.
Most e-cigarette users would be shocked at what was found in these devices. The hazardous substances included a highly-toxic chemical used to make antifreeze. The FDA also found that some e-cigarettes labeled as having no nicotine actually contained the addictive substance.
Our e-cigarette lawyers are investigating a potential class action lawsuit against the distributors of these highly dangerous products. If you smoke e-cigarettes because of claims that they are safer than traditional cigarettes, you may be entitled to compensation. Please contact one of our e-cigarette lawyers right away to protect your legal rights.
You can visit this website hereElectronic cigarettes do not help smokers to quit as marketers claim and may be toxic, the World Health Organization said Friday.
The devices resemble a real cigarette, but consist of a stainless steel tube with a chamber that holds liquid nicotine. The E-cigarettes have been marketed as a healthier alternative to tobacco, and since they do not need to be lit, some people are using them to evade smoking bans in public places, the UN health agency said.
ContinuedAs trust in the government fades fast in the United States, they may be on the verge of another critical mistake: outlawing electronic cigarettes and giving smokers only two options: quit or die.
A recent laboratory study performed at the request of the Food and Drug Administration revealed ingredients in e-cigarettes that skeptics suspected all along. The minuscule presence of diethylene glycol, an ingredient that is found in antifreeze and certain levels of nitrosamines, were found in some cartridges.
Concern over the safety of these products is at a peak and the opposition questions the effects of the product on people’s health as well as the theory that the different flavored cartridges will attract children. Continued
The following information was released by the office of the Connecticut Attorney General:
E-cigarettes, which lack FDA approval, are battery-powered nicotine delivery systems that produce heated vapor instead of smoke. Manufacturers and retailers claim e-cigarettes are a safer, healthier alternative to smoking.
The FDA, however, recently tested two brands, Smoking Everywhere and NJoy, finding both contained nitrosamines, known carcinogens. An antifreeze ingredient -- diethylene glycol -- was found in a Smoking Everywhere cartridge. In addition, nicotine levels varied more than 60 percent in cartridges labeled as containing a high concentration of the drug. Researchers also found nicotine in cartridges marked nicotine-free. Continued.
eSmoke Cartridges - Lab Tested and Diethylene Glycol free
Posted on 7th Aug 2009 @ 5:26 PM
In response to the recent FDA report that found Diethylene Glycol in cartridges from our competitiors. We are pleased to announce that a recent third party analysis of the eSmoke cartridges was found to be free of DEG.
The FDA's report also backed up it's initial statement that e-cigarettes are no safer than real ones in an attempt to scare electronic cigarette users into returning to real cigarettes by alarming them about the carcinogens detected in the product, without telling them that that the levels were no higher than in nicotine replacement products and that they are 1400 times lower than in Marlboros.
Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, Boston University School of Public Health with over 20 years of experience in tobacco control, primarily as a researcher stated in his blog titled "The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary" the levels of carcinogens found in the Electronic Cigarette compared to traditional FDA approved NRTs and real cigarettes. His numbers based on scientific findings showed the following:
Maximum Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamine Levels in Various Cigarettes and Nicotine-Delivery Products (ng/g, except for nicotine gum and patch which are ng/patch or ng/gum piece) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Product | NNN | NNK | NAT | NAB | Total |
Electronic Cigarette | 3.87 | 1.46 | 2.16 | 0.693 | 8.183 |
Nicotine Gum | 2.0 | ND | ND | ND | 2.0 |
Nicotine Patch | ND | 8.0 | ND | ND | 8.0 |
Swedish Snus | 2,400 | ||||
Winston | 2200 | 580 | 560 | 25 | 3365 |
Newport | 1100 | 830 | 1900 | 55 | 3885 |
Camel | 3100 | 1400 | 2800 | 150 | 7450 |
Skoal | 4500 | 470 | 4100 | 220 | 9290 |
Marlboro | 4300 | 1800 | 4900 | 190 | 11190 |
Article By Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan | Thursday, August 6, 2009 ... you can read her full article here it is extremely enlightening. Please also read the posting by Dr. Michael Siegal entitled "The Rest of The Story" posted August 7, you can find this posting here. It is important that the general public is aware of this controversy. Our Government needs to be informed so that this product is once again made available to the consumer.
The question being asked is: "'Are electronic cigarettes safe?" ... let's change that to "Are electronic cigarettes much safer than traditional ones?'" ......... the answer ....... YES
The reason the electronic products are being pulled off shelves and banned at our borders is because our Government and Health Canada are so concerned for our safety and are worried about our health. Okay ... if you believe that one, you're gullible enough to believe almost anything.
They are advising those Canadians who have used e-cigarette products and are concerned about their health to consult with a health care practitioner. As it turns out the only concern they seem to face regarding their health, lies in the fact that they are no longer able to purchase this product and are being forced to return to the deadly tobacco products they were trying to rid themselves of.
Health Canada reminds us that it has authorized the sale of a number of legal smoking cessation aids, including nicotine gum, nicotine patches, nicotine inhaler and nicotine lozenges. Here's a tidbit of info for you ... detectable amounts of carcinogens are also present in nicotine replacement products such as Nicoderm CQ and Nicorette Gum although both are approved by the FDA and nitrosamines can also be found in food and beverage items such as bacon and beer.
Michael Siegel ... I am a physician who specialized in preventive medicine and public health. I am now a professor in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, Boston University School of Public Health. I have 20 years of experience in tobacco control, primarily as a researcher. My areas of research interest include the health effects of secondhand smoke, policy aspects of regulating smoking in public places, effects of cigarette marketing on youth smoking behavior, and the evaluation of tobacco control program and policy interventions.
Warning to consumers
FDA Analysis Finds Toxins, Carcinogens in Electronic Cigarettes
By David Mitchell
7/28/2009
The idea that electronic cigarettes offer tobacco users a safer alternative than, say, a pack of Marlboros recently seems to have gone up in smoke.
The findings of a local medical survey into electronic cigarettes has shown that the technology can help smokers kick the habit. Doctors reported that 45 percent of South African smokers who used e-cigarettes were able to quit tobacco smoking within two months.
Over an eight week study period, doctors supplied 349 patients with Twisp (www.twisp.co.za). Of Dutch origin, the Twisp e-cigarette is an electronic device that delivers nicotine through vapour but without the tar, carcinogens or smoke found in standard cigarettes. All participating doctors agreed that e-cigarettes are a significantly more healthy alternative to conventional smoking.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released the results of their study into the safety or not of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). My colleague the National Examiner has a good round up of those results: or at least, the results as announced.
Your humble reporter has a nastily suspicious mind though: much of what has been said looks more like a combination of bureaucratic turf war combined with puritanism rather than impartial scientific research. The puritanism is that there are those who heartily desire to get rid of smoking, or anything like it, altogether and the turf war, well, which bureaucracy would ever say that they didn't want to regulate some aspect of life or a product? That's simply not what bureaucracies do. Continued
Nicotine-Delivering Product | Known Serious | Known Serious Adverse Effects | Effectiveness for smoking cessation | FDA Position |
Electronic cigarettes | None | None | No proof, but anecdotal evidence suggests they are more effective than NRT | BANNED |
NRT | None | None | No evidence they are more effective than cold turkey quitting | APPROVED |
Chantix | None | Suicide | No evidence they are more effective than cold turkey quitting | APPROVED |
Cigarettes | Will kill more than 400,000 people this year | Will kill more than 400,000 people this year | None | APPROVED |
You can easily see the insanity here. The product that we know will kill more than 400,000 people this year is APPROVED. The product which has no known serious health risks (although there remains some concern about DEG in some varieties) is BANNED.
The product which delivers nicotine, DEG, and 10,000 other chemicals (including toxins and carcinogens) is APPROVED. But the product which delivers nicotine, DEG, and none (or only traces) of the other 10,000 chemicals, toxins, and carcinogens is BANNED.
Even the FDA's position on Chantix is inconsistent with its position on electronic cigarettes. E-cigarettes are not known to be killing anyone, but they are BANNED. Chantix has been documented to have death as a serious side effect, and it is APPROVED.
Lautenberg Urges FDA to Remove Electronic Cigarettes from the Market Until Proven Safe
What is, and what causes popcorn lung?
In 2004, The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported several cases of bronchiolitis obliterans in workers in a microwave popcorn plant in Missouri in 2000. Bronchiolitis obliterans is a serious and irreversible condition in which the tiny air sacs in the lungs become scarred. After investigation by the NIOSH (National Institute of Occupation Safety and Health), it was discovered that a flavoring agent, diacetyl, was used to give the popcorn a buttery taste, and that inhalation of this flavoring likely contributed to the development of the illness.
Do e-cigarettes cause popcorn lung?
It is not only microwave popcorn that contains dangerous chemical flavorings such as diacetyl. A study published in 2015 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives showed that harmful chemicals associated with "popcorn lung" are present in many types of flavored e-cigarettes, particularly those with flavors like fruit and candy that may appeal to young smokers. Of the 51 flavored e-cigarettes tested, flavoring chemicals were found in 47 and diacetyl specifically in 39 samples. This suggests a potentially dangerous level of exposure via e-cigarettes to chemicals that can cause severe lung damage.
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July 23rd, 2009 at 9:18 pm
It’s sickening that the FDA allows drugs like chantrix to be sold to stop smoking.It’s already proven itself to be a dangerous substance,people have become suicidal on that drug.
That same agency wants to stop me from harming myself accoriding to them by stopping my use of a personal fog machine mixed with nicotone,flavorings and propelene glycol.
If this gets taken away from me I’ll just go back to smoking regular cigarettes.
Surely with the 400 plus chemicals in those including MAOI inhibitors,arsenic and tar I’m not harming myself.
The FDA could care less about me,they just want more power to tell me what I can or can’t put in my body.
Regarding Diethylene Glycol:
Looking at the Health New Zealand study1, the presence of Diethylene Glycol was not tested for. They seem to have based their tests on manufacturer ingredient lists and known tobacco carcinogens.
So what is Diethylene Glycol? The MSDS2 shows that chronic exposure to Diethylene Glycol can cause lesions on the liver and kidneys, as well as damage to the same organs. In the case of inhalation, the only first aid recommended is removal from the source to fresh air. The toxicalogical information is as follows:
Quote:
Oral rat LD50: 12565 mg/kg. Skin rabbit LD50: 11.89 g/kg Irritation: eye rabbit, standard Draize: 50 mg mild. Investigated as a tumorigen and reproductive effector.
——–\Cancer Lists\——————————————————
—NTP Carcinogen—
Ingredient Known Anticipated IARC Category
———————————— —– ———– ————-
Diethylene Glycol (111-46-6) No No None
This shows that Diethylene Glycol is not a known carcinogen, nor is it expected to be found as one in the future. In addition, the dose required to kill half of the sample of rats tested is 12.565 g/kg and 11.89 g/kg for rabbits. Assuming this can be extended to humans, an average adult male would have to ingest 855.925 g to receive a lethal dose.
Is Diethylene Glycol the main ingredient in antifreeze? The EPA3 has this to say about antifreeze variations:
Quote:
Antifreeze typically contains ethylene glycol as its active ingredient, but some manufacturers market propylene glycol-based antifreeze, which is less toxic to humans and pets. The acute, or short-term, toxicity of propylene glycol, especially in humans, is substantially lower than that of ethylene glycol. Regardless of which active ingredient the spent antifreeze contains, heavy metals contaminate the antifreeze during service. When contaminated, particularly with lead, used antifreeze can be considered hazardous and should be reused, recycled, or disposed of properly.
Ethylene Glycol is the main ingredient in antifreeze. While straight antifreeze is toxic, the main hazard is from used antifreeze, which absorbs heavy metals.
What about Nitrosamines? Nitrosamines are carcinogens. Tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) are found in the liquid used by Ruyan in their cartridges. According to the Health New Zealand report1, the amount increases with the amount of nicotine, and the average is 3.928 Ng (or parts per billion [ppb]). The breakdown is as follows:
Quote:
Nitrosamines
0mg – 0.260 Ng (ppb)
6mg – 3.068 Ng
11mg – 4.200 Ng
16mg – 8.183 Ng
The highest amount found was in 16mg liquid, which had an average of 8.183 Ng. In comparison, Nicorette Gum (which is approved as an NRT) contains about 8 Ng. To put that number into perspective, Swedish moist snuff contains between 1000 and 2400 ppb nitrosamines, and unburned tobacco from cigarettes contains around 1230 ppb.
Study Link here
www.healthnz.co.nz/2ndSafetyReport_9Apr08.pdf