H.r. 1256

[Zyram]

What I was really worried about was S-982, the Senate version of it. Theirs was different than the HR 1256, and the House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said they would amend theirs to match the Senate's version. So here is what I got from Thomas.LOC.gov:

"S.982
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Introduced in Senate)

`SEC. 907. TOBACCO PRODUCT STANDARDS.

`(a) In General-

`(1) SPECIAL RULES-

`(A) SPECIAL RULE FOR CIGARETTES- Beginning 3 months after the date of enactment of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, a cigarette or any of its component parts (including the tobacco, filter, or paper) shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke. Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to limit the Secretary's authority to take action under this section or other sections of this Act applicable to menthol or any artificial or natural flavor, herb, or spice not specified in this subparagraph."

Cigarettes. Banning flavorings on other products would eliminate pipe tobacco, snuff and chewing tobacco from the market, since they are all flavored. There will be a new labeling requirement for nicotine content, oddly enough, so the nicotine content will have to be on the packaging.

I bolded for a reason, isn't that crazy? Nothing shall be construed to limit the authority of a non-elected bureaucrat. Tobacco Czar is next I suppose, to keep us folks from harming ourselves. Then will be the Fast Food Czar, and Sugary Drinks Czar, and... etc. etc. ad nauseum. This is why I am saying it's the first step in a federal ban on tobacco, after all we all know those drug cartels need MORE sources of income from the black market. It'll probly be the CIA selling them though, to fund the camps they will put all the smokers in. =p



-Z

[delSol_si]

Z, unfortunately, San Antonio

[Rani]

What I was really worried about was S-982, the Senate version of it. Theirs was different than the HR 1256, and the House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said they would amend theirs to match the Senate's version. So here is what I got from Thomas.LOC.gov:

"S.982
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Introduced in Senate)

`SEC. 907. TOBACCO PRODUCT STANDARDS.

`(a) In General-

`(1) SPECIAL RULES-

`(A) SPECIAL RULE FOR CIGARETTES- Beginning 3 months after the date of enactment of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, a cigarette or any of its component parts (including the tobacco, filter, or paper) shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke. Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to limit the Secretary's authority to take action under this section or other sections of this Act applicable to menthol or any artificial or natural flavor, herb, or spice not specified in this subparagraph."

Cigarettes. Banning flavorings on other products would eliminate pipe tobacco, snuff and chewing tobacco from the market, since they are all flavored. There will be a new labeling requirement for nicotine content, oddly enough, so the nicotine content will have to be on the packaging.

I bolded for a reason, isn't that crazy? Nothing shall be construed to limit the authority of a non-elected bureaucrat. Tobacco Czar is next I suppose, to keep us folks from harming ourselves. Then will be the Fast Food Czar, and Sugary Drinks Czar, and... etc. etc. ad nauseum. This is why I am saying it's the first step in a federal ban on tobacco, after all we all know those drug cartels need MORE sources of income from the black market. It'll probly be the CIA selling them though, to fund the camps they will put all the smokers in. =p



-Z

Interesting enough there's a series of crime stories by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts alter-ego) set in the future in which tobacco is considered an addiction and you have to register as a tobacco addict to be able to buy it. Almost seems like that's the way we're heading...... One little step at a time.

'Rani

[Zyram]

What I was really worried about was S-982, the Senate version of it. Theirs was different than the HR 1256, and the House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said they would amend theirs to match the Senate's version. So here is what I got from Thomas.LOC.gov:

"S.982
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Introduced in Senate)

`SEC. 907. TOBACCO PRODUCT STANDARDS.

`(a) In General-

`(1) SPECIAL RULES-

`(A) SPECIAL RULE FOR CIGARETTES- Beginning 3 months after the date of enactment of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, a cigarette or any of its component parts (including the tobacco, filter, or paper) shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke. Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to limit the Secretary's authority to take action under this section or other sections of this Act applicable to menthol or any artificial or natural flavor, herb, or spice not specified in this subparagraph."

Cigarettes. Banning flavorings on other products would eliminate pipe tobacco, snuff and chewing tobacco from the market, since they are all flavored. There will be a new labeling requirement for nicotine content, oddly enough, so the nicotine content will have to be on the packaging.

I bolded for a reason, isn't that crazy? Nothing shall be construed to limit the authority of a non-elected bureaucrat. Tobacco Czar is next I suppose, to keep us folks from harming ourselves. Then will be the Fast Food Czar, and Sugary Drinks Czar, and... etc. etc. ad nauseum. This is why I am saying it's the first step in a federal ban on tobacco, after all we all know those drug cartels need MORE sources of income from the black market. It'll probly be the CIA selling them though, to fund the camps they will put all the smokers in. =p



-Z

Interesting enough there's a series of crime stories by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts alter-ego) set in the future in which tobacco is considered an addiction and you have to register as a tobacco addict to be able to buy it. Almost seems like that's the way we're heading...... One little step at a time.

'Rani

Yea my mother and grandmother read everything by Nora Roberts and they have read those and now they see what I mean when I rant about where we're headed. It's scary no? 1984 is closer and closer, it's all happening in little steps so people always can manage to justify this little loss of privacy, this little loss of liberty, this loss of choice and independence. Baby steps, but Totalitarianism is the child of democracy, and even Hitler came to power and got his powers by the votes of the people who he promised security in exchange for liberty.

-Z

[TheScotsman]

Yet again, the sheelple of America gets exactly the government they deserve.

When you elect assholes, don't be amazed that they act like assholes.



Just wait until the government is paying for healthcare, then you can be assured it's gone, along with anything else they don't think you are smart enough to use in moderation.

[delSol_si]

Yet again, the sheelple of America gets exactly the government they deserve.

When you elect assholes, don't be amazed that they act like assholes.



Just wait until the government is paying for healthcare, then you can be assured it's gone, along with anything else they don't think you are smart enough to use in moderation.

So far, no one that I have voted for has ever gotten into office. So, I personally don't elect assholes. Not my fault they are in office.

[Sonthert]

The section only applies to cigarettes. There is still no proviso for adding warning labels to pipe tobacco. Cigars have them, cigarettes have them, snuff has them, chewing tobacco has them. Pipe tobacco doesn't...because it hasn't been shown to be hazardous?

Cigarettes are the main focus of this legislation.

[MN_Clouds]

The section only applies to cigarettes. There is still no proviso for adding warning labels to pipe tobacco. Cigars have them, cigarettes have them, snuff has them, chewing tobacco has them. Pipe tobacco doesn't...because it hasn't been shown to be hazardous?

Cigarettes are the main focus of this legislation.

the pipe tobacco in MN has warnings on it, similar to that of cigarette warnings. aren't pipe tobacco manufacturers already required to do this?

and i guess my question would be what effect,if any, would this bill have on shisha? i could care less about cigs/cloves but i love my sheesh. Edited June 17, 2009 by MN_Clouds

[Plex]

Here is a quick link to show the progress of this bill... looks like its in Obama's hands now.....

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1256

It is one thing if they were to ensure transparency of information on the labeling... but whether or not I smoke my djarum clove cigarettes is NOT their concern... it is MY choice!
Do not accept this, or any other attack against our freedom from our gov't. We pay them to work for *us*, they are *our* servants and yet they seem to favor big corporations and work against our freedom!

We need to speak up! Send letters to your senator stating your concerns. They need to start passing bills to RESTORE our constitutional rights NOT REVOKE them. If you've been following what has been going on in the past 8 years, you already know that our rights are in the process of being dismantled piece by piece in a deceptive manner.

[Sonthert]

The section only applies to cigarettes. There is still no proviso for adding warning labels to pipe tobacco. Cigars have them, cigarettes have them, snuff has them, chewing tobacco has them. Pipe tobacco doesn't...because it hasn't been shown to be hazardous?

Cigarettes are the main focus of this legislation.

the pipe tobacco in MN has warnings on it, similar to that of cigarette warnings. aren't pipe tobacco manufacturers already required to do this?

and i guess my question would be what effect,if any, would this bill have on shisha? i could care less about cigs/cloves but i love my sheesh.

Not to my knowledge. I have put a warning label on my packages of tobacco forever, so maybe they overlook it, but I'm pretty sure there's no such law. I'm compliant one way or the other, I think. They'll send me a letter on colored paper if I'm not.

[chinodos]

This is some crap. I'm gonna have to save up some money and stockpile on shisha lol....damnit.


YET!!!!

There's time, it hasn't passed yet. And even when it does, new legislation will have to be written to include shisha. Hey, how long does shisha keep, anyway?

Actually it has passed. A breaking news report said both senate and house have now approved and signed it, and they were celebrating the landmark victory. The catch is the whole thing is left in the FDA's hands to decide what's what. The bill clearly indicates flavored tobacco products. The head of the FDA could decide that includes shisha, and in fact there's a very real chance that's just what will be decided because guess who wrote and sponsored the bill? Phillip-Morris! To my knowledge Phillip-Morris doesn't make flavored products except menthol which is allowable under the new law. So while it was all done under the guise of protecting our children from smoking, it give them a clear run at competing flavored products. So what can we do? Everybody needs to go to www.whitehouse.gov and send an email to the President asking that the bill be vetoed until it is modified to allow for hookah tobacco. Point out it's going to kill an entire industry including imports for which the US won't be able to collect taxes on. Maybe it will help.

'Rani

Hell yeah VETO, VETO, VETO!!

[Plex]

he has signed it into law... traitor

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8113810.stm

[Plex]

"Today, despite decades of lobbying and advertising by the tobacco industry, we passed a law to help protect the next generation of Americans from growing up with a deadly habit that so many of our generation have lived with." - Obama

By banning products OTHER THAN straight up cigarettes? Quite the logic there don't you think?

[mjdx88]

This was no surprise...such a shame that people are now worried more about the heath of the public then the health of our depressed economy.

[Genie]

They'll be limiting the amount of nicotine in all cigarettes and banning flavored cigarettes except for menthol. Straight up ciggs won't be so straight up anymore, they'll have less nicotine. And apparently there will no longer be Marlboro Lights or any other "light" tobacco, they can't use the words "light" or "mild" anymore.

While the bill may or may not threaten shisha later on down the line, I am actually excited about the parts of it that require full disclosure on what they're putting in cigarettes. It's about time tobacco companies were forced to fess up.

[Rani]

People kept saying "no worries, no worries, it's intended for cigarettes", but having read the letter of the law..... I think we're in deep kimchee and our hookahs will be going the way of the buffalo before too long. Nothing in the law is specific to cigarettes and can be applied to any other tobacco product. I'm 2 hours from the Mexico border and somehow I doubt they're ever going to have tobacco sniffing dogs at the crossing station! The moment hookah tobacco gets hit, Tijuana here I come.

'Rani

[Rani]

I just had an idea....... Why don't we send the President a hookah package? He's a cigarette smoker and we could send him a package that not only includes a complete set up, but documents showing the history of hookah, and how many hookah smokers have gotten off cigarettes including many of us. Who knows, maybe it will not only help him get off cigarettes himself, but he might just think of hookah differently and get the FDA to leave us alone for a very long time. Just because a law has become law doesn't mean the extreme uses of it are quickly and automatically enforced. Dumb idea?

'Rani

[mjdx88]

Honestly....I like this idea....how serious would someone take and will Obama get the package...I dunno. We get a few bucks from everyone and maybe a donation from Eric for some tobaccy? It would very well work. Im sure Mush would want to be involved.

In the end whats the worst that could happen? Nothing more so than what can already happen, and everyone is out like 5 bucks.

-Mike Edited June 22, 2009 by mjdx88

[Genie]

Honestly....I like this idea....how serious would someone take and will Obama get the package...I dunno. We get a few bucks from everyone and maybe a donation from Eric for some tobaccy? It would very well work. Im sure Mush would want to be involved.

In the end whats the worst that could happen? Nothing more so than what can already happen, and everyone is out like 5 bucks.

-Mike

Are you two crazy? Right now we're safe under the bill. Why remind them that shisha is out there? Leave them be to focus on cigarettes. They'll start talking about hookah and shisha soon enough, I can see no reason to speed it up. I still don't think we're in much danger. Hookah is just too inconvenient for your average teen. It's not like they can run out behind the gym during lunch to smoke a hookah.

[Rani]

Honestly....I like this idea....how serious would someone take and will Obama get the package...I dunno. We get a few bucks from everyone and maybe a donation from Eric for some tobaccy? It would very well work. Im sure Mush would want to be involved.

In the end whats the worst that could happen? Nothing more so than what can already happen, and everyone is out like 5 bucks.

-Mike

Are you two crazy? Right now we're safe under the bill. Why remind them that shisha is out there? Leave them be to focus on cigarettes. They'll start talking about hookah and shisha soon enough, I can see no reason to speed it up. I still don't think we're in much danger. Hookah is just too inconvenient for your average teen. It's not like they can run out behind the gym during lunch to smoke a hookah.

Who says they're going to focus on cigarettes first? What if they tackle smokeless tobacco and shisha first? There's no reason they couldn't and personally if I'm on a vendetta to clean something up, I tackle all the smaller issues first so I can devote full time to the big one after. Killing off dip and shisha will ruffle fewer feathers and make the big push to eliminate cigarettes much easier to swallow by the general public if they pull everything else off the market first. What's more the general public will likely back it because of the misconceptions about what hookah is and what it's for.

'Rani

[speel]

Worse comes to worse, we make our own shisha ...and hope a company will "open source" a recipe. But from the looks of it I think we're good for now.

[Rani]

What worries me most of all is the news reports keep saying over and over and over...... "Candy flavored tobacco products". Can anyone think of anything more candy flavored than our tobacco? I'm sorry but I think everyone is going to be surprised that we end up one of the early targets.

'Rani

[Genie]

Who says they're going to focus on cigarettes first? What if they tackle smokeless tobacco and shisha first? There's no reason they couldn't and personally if I'm on a vendetta to clean something up, I tackle all the smaller issues first so I can devote full time to the big one after. Killing off dip and shisha will ruffle fewer feathers and make the big push to eliminate cigarettes much easier to swallow by the general public if they pull everything else off the market first. What's more the general public will likely back it because of the misconceptions about what hookah is and what it's for.

'Rani

I read the bill, the biggest changes focus on cigarettes. There is no mention whatsoever of shisha. I saw nothing in it that gave me the impression anything about shisha is yet in danger. Heck, the low amount of nicotine in shisha alone is enough to keep it under the radar for quite a while. Can you point out which parts of the bill you think threaten shisha?

[Genie]

What worries me most of all is the news reports keep saying over and over and over...... "Candy flavored tobacco products". Can anyone think of anything more candy flavored than our tobacco? I'm sorry but I think everyone is going to be surprised that we end up one of the early targets.

'Rani

The news reports can say what they like. The bill specifically mentions banning flavoring in cigarettes, little cigars, smokeless tobacco, and roll your own tobacco. No mention is made of pipe tobacco of any sort.

See Chapter IX -- Tobacco Products ‘SEC. 900. DEFINITIONS to see what defines tobacco products affected by the bill.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-1256

[Rani]

What worries me most of all is the news reports keep saying over and over and over...... "Candy flavored tobacco products". Can anyone think of anything more candy flavored than our tobacco? I'm sorry but I think everyone is going to be surprised that we end up one of the early targets.

'Rani

The news reports can say what they like. The bill specifically mentions banning flavoring in cigarettes, little cigars, smokeless tobacco, and roll your own tobacco. No mention is made of pipe tobacco of any sort.

See Chapter IX -- Tobacco Products 'SEC. 900. DEFINITIONS to see what defines tobacco products affected by the bill.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-1256

Believe me I would love to be wrong. But I don't think I am. There is no doubt whatsoever that hookah tobacco is a tobacco product. And I think we're going to get hit up with this bill the same as every other tobacco product sold in this country. Like I said, I'd love to be wrong. I just don't think I am in this particular case.

'Rani