Here are the Top 5 Statements made when Debating about Vapor Products at The NY State Assembly Hearing on 5/17/17. There were so many, it was difficult to narrow them down. These are not ranked in any particular order. Feel free to rank them in the comments below:
- Republican Dean Murray “Let’s talk about some of the chemicals being brought up as harmful. Propylene Glycol was one. Propylene Glycol sounds very scary, sounds very nasty. I’m assuming we all brushed our teeth this morning? Congratulations, you used Propylene Glycol. It’s in toothpaste, it’s cake icing, it’s in cake batter. These chemicals are everywhere.”
- Republican Raymond Walter “There are no peer-reviewed studies showing that Vaping leads to smoking. So it’s not a gateway, it’s less dangerous and we’re trying to scare people away from using e-cigarettes – this is only going to keep people smoking. We are actually doing more harm than good by passing bills like this. We are creating worse health outcomes for the citizens in our state.”
- Republican Andrew P. Raia “These products are not the same as cigarettes and not all vapor products contain any nicotine. So you can’t throw all vapor products in the same category.
- Republican Dean Murray “Nicotine Ingestion from secondhand exposure? Naturally, nicotine exists in strawberries. It is in tomatoes, potatoes, cauliflower, eggplant – are we going to ban those in public? While I understand the concern about cigarette smoke, it’s not the same thing! We are talking about apples and oranges.” (Could not have said it better myself Mr. Murray).
- Republican Andrew P. Raia – “If I were Bill Murray, I would be calling this Groundhog Day.” (in reference to ongoing debates on vapor products within the NY State Govt)
Honorable Mention
- Republican Edward P. Ra – “Some of the studies in England are a little bit ahead of us on this and their top health physician organization are really starting to push e-cigarettes as a potential game changer that can prevent so many deaths that actual cigarettes cause. When London’s top health officials are saying these products are 95% safer, this should really make us take a step back and look at creating a separate category for these products and be much less restrictive with e-cigarettes than we are with cigarettes.”
Anyone who is familiar with vapor products and the culture, just might think these statements were made by vaping advocates. However, these are Republican politicians in the state of New York presenting these comments to the NY State Assembly, not advocates. This fact should become a meaningful sentiment for vape advocates as it has revealed that advocating is not only effective, but also very meaningful.
This hearing in New York State is the best example of political progress from the direct effects from advocating. NYSVA has been visiting the state capital in order to present such information to the politicians who have been reasonably willing to work with the NY State advocates. Perhaps, the New York State Vapor Association are the ones who we all should be thanking for their efforts. At the same time, I think it is not out of the question for vape advocates to personally send a thank you email or letter to these political representatives in NY. They are setting a perfect example for their constituents to follow.
If anyone can name an instance that involved as much or more accurate, valid and reliable information being used when debating an adult-only consumer product in a political arena, please feel free to comment and share.
Feel free to watch & listen to the NY State Assembly hearing at the following web address listed below:
http://nystateassembly.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7&clip_id=4259&meta_id=20064
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
~ Mahatma Gandhi.