Chris0nllyn
Well-Known Member
So, in this Senate hearing, Rockefeller was talking about e-cigs, vaping, and the like with Jason Healy and Craig Weiss, the owners of Blu and NJoy electronic cigarette companies.
He starts out with: "I should warn you that emotionally I'm on edge...", and continues on with such sayings as, ""I'm ashamed of you," ""I don't know how you go to sleep at night.…You're what's wrong with this country." "Why in heaven's name are you going ahead and marketing these things and selling these things?", etc.
Just listening to him, you'll pretty much realize his entire "argument" is about the children. "E-cigarette manufacturers are aggressively promoting their products using techniques and venues that appeal to youth," he said. Also, a Dr. worried about "the aggressive marketing of electronic cigarettes and its impact on youth."
Of course, you'd expect there to be a miriad of examples that suggest these companies are targeting minors, right? It's obvious to these geniouses that advertising and promotion are, and should be viewed as, acts of aggression not not simply free speech. Anyway, to the examples....One witness, Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, cited "scantily clad models" in e-cigarette ads. Well thank god every heterosexual man in America immediately lost interest in that sort of thing when he turned 18.
That, and of course Rockefeller's concrete idea that "little kids" are "looking for things which they get to see a lot of it in the advertising." Such as? "One of the nice things is that you can sort of mimic the act of smoking,"..."It's cool. Kids are cool."
Anything else, Mr. Rockefeller? "I am an adult," Rockefeller said. "Would I be attracted to Cherry Crush, Chocolate Treat, Peachy Keen, Vanilla Dreams? No, I wouldn't." This shall now be known as the Rockefeller Rule. If an e-cigarette flavor does not appeal to Jay Rockefeller, it could not possibly appeal to anyone older than 17. Nevermind that Healy testified that survey data indicate "the average age of a cherry smoker is in the high 40s."
Or maybe look at this poll from CASAA that shows half of adult e-cigarette users prefer nontobacco flavors. By god, one way to quit smoking is to vape a tobacco flavor!
http://casaa.org/uploads/8_Biggest_Electronic_Cigarette_Myths.pdf
Bottom line is, these critics simply can't support their charge that companies like Blu and NJoy must be targeting children, they fall back on the claim that intent does not matter. They say advertising and flavors that might appeal to minors simply cannot be tolerated, regardless of the intended audience.
Did any of these asshats think about the fact that people will not make the potentially lifesaving switch from smoking to vaping—a switch that the Food and Drug Administration, which is developing regulations for e-cigarettes, concedes "would be good for public health"—if they do not know about these products. Restrictions imposed in the name of protecting children therefore can have deadly consequences for adults.
Obviously, the only responsible thing for an e-cig company to do is go out of business.
Video starts around the 23:00 mark.
http://www.commerce.senate.gov/publ...Group_id=b06c39af-e033-4cba-9221-de668ca1978a
He starts out with: "I should warn you that emotionally I'm on edge...", and continues on with such sayings as, ""I'm ashamed of you," ""I don't know how you go to sleep at night.…You're what's wrong with this country." "Why in heaven's name are you going ahead and marketing these things and selling these things?", etc.
Just listening to him, you'll pretty much realize his entire "argument" is about the children. "E-cigarette manufacturers are aggressively promoting their products using techniques and venues that appeal to youth," he said. Also, a Dr. worried about "the aggressive marketing of electronic cigarettes and its impact on youth."
Of course, you'd expect there to be a miriad of examples that suggest these companies are targeting minors, right? It's obvious to these geniouses that advertising and promotion are, and should be viewed as, acts of aggression not not simply free speech. Anyway, to the examples....One witness, Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, cited "scantily clad models" in e-cigarette ads. Well thank god every heterosexual man in America immediately lost interest in that sort of thing when he turned 18.
That, and of course Rockefeller's concrete idea that "little kids" are "looking for things which they get to see a lot of it in the advertising." Such as? "One of the nice things is that you can sort of mimic the act of smoking,"..."It's cool. Kids are cool."
Anything else, Mr. Rockefeller? "I am an adult," Rockefeller said. "Would I be attracted to Cherry Crush, Chocolate Treat, Peachy Keen, Vanilla Dreams? No, I wouldn't." This shall now be known as the Rockefeller Rule. If an e-cigarette flavor does not appeal to Jay Rockefeller, it could not possibly appeal to anyone older than 17. Nevermind that Healy testified that survey data indicate "the average age of a cherry smoker is in the high 40s."
Or maybe look at this poll from CASAA that shows half of adult e-cigarette users prefer nontobacco flavors. By god, one way to quit smoking is to vape a tobacco flavor!
http://casaa.org/uploads/8_Biggest_Electronic_Cigarette_Myths.pdf
Bottom line is, these critics simply can't support their charge that companies like Blu and NJoy must be targeting children, they fall back on the claim that intent does not matter. They say advertising and flavors that might appeal to minors simply cannot be tolerated, regardless of the intended audience.
Did any of these asshats think about the fact that people will not make the potentially lifesaving switch from smoking to vaping—a switch that the Food and Drug Administration, which is developing regulations for e-cigarettes, concedes "would be good for public health"—if they do not know about these products. Restrictions imposed in the name of protecting children therefore can have deadly consequences for adults.
Obviously, the only responsible thing for an e-cig company to do is go out of business.
Video starts around the 23:00 mark.
http://www.commerce.senate.gov/publ...Group_id=b06c39af-e033-4cba-9221-de668ca1978a
