Advocates from the AHA, the Rhode Island Tobacco Control Network and other public health groups urged Governor Chafee to veto tobacco industry-supported legislation related to electronic cigarettes (also known as e-cigarettes) - and the Governor listened! The tobacco industry and electronic cigarette vendors claimed the intent was to protect children by banning the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, but in reality the bill was a "Trojan Horse" to exempt e-cigarettes from the strict laws that apply to regular cigarettes - laws that we fought for.
In his veto letter, Governor Chafee noted, “The sale of electronic cigarettes to children should be prohibited, but it is counter-productive to prohibit sales to children while simultaneously exempting electronic cigarettes from laws concerning regulation, enforcement, licensing or taxation. As a matter of public policy, electronic cigarette laws should mirror tobacco product laws, not circumvent them.” We couldn’t agree more with the Governor’s statement.
Stay tuned to learn more about how we will work together with Governor Chafee and the General Assembly to put meaningful steps in place to keep kids from buying e-cigarettes.
Please click the following link to thank Governor Chafee for doing the right thing and protecting Rhode Island kids from this new threat: http://yourethecure.org/aha/advocacy/composeletters.aspx?AlertID=33455
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