Washington State Debating Ban on "Flavored Tobacco"

[yachtexplorer]

From Today's Seattle Times:
Lawmaker pushes for ban on flavored tobacco

Lawmakers in Olympia have proposed a ban on flavored tobacco products, but barring such items could cost the state millions of dollars.
The Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. —

Lawmakers in Olympia have proposed a ban on flavored tobacco products, but barring such items could cost the state millions of dollars.
Bills in the House and Senate would ban flavored tobacco products such as cigarillos, and smokeless tobacco products like pouches, pills or capsules.
Secretary of the Department of Health Mary Selecky said Monday in a Senate hearing that flavor plays a big factor in attracting young smokers.
But Office of Financial Management reports that the state would lose around $20 million in the next biennium because of tax revenue loss. The state is facing a $5 billion deficit this session.
Republican Sen. Janea Holmquist Newbry of Moses Lake says the bill may preclude adults from choices. Opponents also say the bill is sweeping because it could include pipe tobacco.
The measure also establishes more regulation on tobacco displays in stores and gives local authorities more power in tobacco regulations.

 

[hobie1dog]

they just won't give up. :evil:

 

[yoru]

Correction -- it almost certainly would include pipe tobacco, because it specifically adresses the kind of flavouring they use, in fact it would be counter to the law not to apply it to pipe tobacco -- but since when did law-makers actually -follow- the law? That is to say, they might chose to leave pipe tobacco alone. Then again they might not. . .. But the law itself does include pipe tobacco.

 

[sparroa]

This is the kind of thread that makes the profanities rise up in all of us...
These brilliant people are ruining things for everyone. Why must they meddle in the sale of tobacco with bans and restrictions, encouraging contraband and royally ticking off taxpaying adults who are having their consumer rights infringed upon. They have a $5,000,000,000 deficit this session and want to eliminate legitimate revenue via sin taxes? What are they thinking? Seems like their heads are empty to me. Especially when they lash out at pipe tobacco, I am deeply annoyed that they can write off the wishes of responsible adults "for the sake of the children" when that has absolutely nothing to do with their actual prohibitionist agenda. Why not ban all the coolers and alcopops? Smirnoff Ice and Bacardi Breezers and all those candy sweet drinks potently laced with alcohol and loaded with enough sugar to completely disguise their boozy taste. Perhaps because the liquor business is even more powerful than Big Tobacco in its prime, and millions of adults enjoy said disgusting products. Flavoured pipe tobacco has fewer users therefore fewer defenders and doesn't have very much financial clout in comparison - making it an easy target in this anti tobacco world.
I'm afraid that there may be a similar action in Canada coming very soon.

From the Toronto Sun, December 2nd 2010:
OTTAWA – The government's trying to close loopholes that allow cigar makers to continue producing the flavoured cigarillos that are popular with teen smokers, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Thursday.
In response to a question by NDP health critic Megan Leslie, Aglukkaq said Health Canada officials are taking another look at the current rules for cigarillos, which were updated last summer.
“We're investigating that (closing the loopholes), yes ... I would love to make an announcement on that,” Aglukkaq said.
“This is a moving target, as you know.”
The Tories promised during the 2008 election to change the law to make cigarillos less enticing to teens.
The new rules took effect last July, banning companies from adding flavouring to small cigars with 1.4g of tobacco or less, as well as the ones with filters and the ones sold as singles.
Manufacturers changed the size slightly and removed filters in some cases, allowing them to continue selling the flavoured product.
Cigar makers argue the flavoured product is popular with adults too and that teens use far more unflavoured tobacco products than they do flavoured."
That is only one step removed from a ban of pipe tobacco. All it takes is one politician who is a diehard anti- to speak up during the writing of a bill like this to include all flavoured forms, even pipe tobacco. Am I not mistaken in saying that all pipe tobacco is flavoured, or cased, in some way? Will the legislators really be so careful as to draw a line between Cherrybomb and Barbary Coast, or any blend with "additives" for that matter?
With regards to cigarillos in Canada, I have an example of what the legislation caused. Captain Black miniature cigars were once sold as Cherry and Sweets. They have since reverted to the more vague Red and Gold. Only the name changed, they were still flavoured the same. So now if they close this supposed loophole, will they be analyzing the cigars and monitoring for additional flavouring - causing such brands to be discontinued entirely? That's my understanding, and I think its ridiculous. 5 years ago, when I wasn't legal age in Canada, it was FAR easier to buy marijuana than alcohol, and it was FAR easier to buy alcohol than tobacco. The cigarettes that people had were from low quality RYO or contraband sold to minors by unsavoury unadults; the fact remains that they still weren't purchased from a store. Nobody was smoking exotically flavoured (and expensive) cigarillos or cigars at that time, and I doubt that it has become overly pervasive since. The vast majority of youth who smoke will have regular cigarettes, probably obtained illegally without any ties to the legitimate tobacco retail network. Instead they will rob my 70 year old uncle of his right to enjoy his desired smoke by banning those mini cigars, and also making our hobby vulnerable to future legislation.

 

[expatpipe]

If they can pass laws on your frenchfries.. jeesh thats some scary stuff. It all makes me feel like I'm reading that book, 1984.

 

[yoru]

yeah the guy that wrote that book was about 50 years early. Come 2034 the current trends of legislation in every country on earth could feasibly end up at that point.

 

[fred]

I'm reading a book, Tobacco: Its History and Associations, by F.W. Fairholt, which is a reproduction of the original work published before 1923. In it are listed adulterations discovered in manufactured tobacco. This list includes: Leaves of Rhubarb, Dock Burdock, Coltsfoot, Beech, Plantain, Oak and Elm, Peat-earth, Bran, Sawdust, Malt-rootlets, Barley-meal, Oat-meal, Bran-meal, Pea-meal, Potato-starch, Chicory leaves steeped in tar-oil, Cabbage and Lettuce. He goes on to list a parliamentary return, from 1852-4 that adds: Sugar, Alum, Lime, Flour of Meal, Saltpetre, Fuller's Earth, Malt Commings, Chromate of Lead, Peat Moss, Treacle, Salt, Endive leaves, Lampblack, Gum, Red dye and Black dye composed of vegetable red, iron and liquorice. It would seem that the adulterants used in blending tobaccos was not only creative and widespread, prior to the British laws prohibiting such practices, but potentially injurious as well. This historical perspective gives me pause to reconsider the recent FDA demands for tobacco blenders to provide a list of blending components that include additives....
Adulterations that Fairholt lists, were used in Britain to add to sell weight after the excise duties of the imported tobacco were paid. These nefarious blending/diluting practices lead to 'The Pure Tobacco Act of 1842'. So this was not done to protect the consumer, but to make sure the crown wouldn't lose tax revenue. Undoubtably, the smokers and snuffers reaped the benefts from this in the form of better quality tobacco. Also Artur Edmund Tanner writes in his book "Tobacco, from the grower to the smoker"(1912) about the circumstances and reasons what lead to The Pure Tobacco Act of 1842. I quess adulterations and additives used in tobacco today have to do more with taste and mold prevention than diluting the tobacco. In the EU (or only in some countries in the EU?) these additives must be publicly declared. Not on the tins, but they must be obtainable for consumers in these countries on gov websites etc. I think this is a Good Thing™. I've sometimes linked to these sites here and every time some of the reactions here have been akin to: "Ah, European baccys are laden with chemicals - good thing that we can still buy pure American baccys..." I'm guessing here, but if similar lists were to be revealed in the US – it would show very similar additives. http://www.archive.org/details/tobaccofromgrowe00tannrich
The smaller business concerns are the most likely to feel the burden of the government oversight & enforcement. The larger corporations have the resource to curry favor in both the definitions of what the legal differences between Pipe tobacco and cigarette tobacco are, as well as what flavor enhancements and preservatives are allowed. The FDA is cited as acting 'in the public good', but as the historical perspective suggests, this would be the first such action for the government to engage in during the long records of taxation. This is the current drama in the US, played against the backdrop of politicians who are desperate for revenue on the one hand and publicly grandstanding for the gradual abolishment of tobacco use, at the same time. The best part of it all is that this theater of the absurd is being underwritten by tax revenue
You can check out "non-tobacco ingredients" at this web site, apparently posted for European consumers in response to some type of government order.

http://www.bat-ingredients.com/

You need to do some poking around to find tobaccos you might know about. For example:
DUNHILL MY MIXTURE
Burnt Ingredient Quantity (mg) Quantity (%)

Tobacco 799.12394 79.91239

Water 170.00000 17.00000

Propylene glycol 21.80269 2.18027

Glycerol 6.96600 0.69660

Potassium sorbate 1.00500 0.10050

Sodium benzoate 0.99429 0.09943

benzoic acid 0.10808 0.01081

Total 1000mg 100%

 

[cornguy]

Fred, thanks for the informative post.

When you're done with the book, why not post a short review?

And yes this current relentless assault on tobacco products does seem like "theatre of the absurd."

 

[hilojohnny]

They're attacking the "flavorings" now....but their goal is the abolition of all tobacco products...and it looks like they are on track to achieve their goal.... :crazy:

 

[fred]

You're welcome Cornguy. Even better, since the copyright expired before 1923,

the book is considered Public Domain. You can read it for yourself...

http://books.google.com/books?id=h_gWAAAAYAAJ&ots=QcGOoOVTEn&dq=Tobacco:%20Its%20History%20and%20Associations&lr&pg=PR8#v=onepage&q&f=false
I purchased a hard copy of it, because I'm a low tech old guy...

 

[admin]

Already posted here previously with links to other accompanying articles in the Seattle Times and on our own site:

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/the-second-battle-in-seattle