March 4 2011
Good news! First, the House committee passed a heavily modified version of House Bill 1246 which removes ALL references to flavored tobacco, as far as I can tell. Also, it appears that Senate Bill 5380 did not make it out of committee. Taken together, it appears at this point that the legislature will not pass any sort of comprehensive pipe tobacco ban this session, or at least, if they go by the rules, they can't, as final bills must be out of committee at this point, so the House Bill is final as edited, and the Senate Bill is dead. Yay!
February 11 2011
Insult To Injury Well, I find it amazing that I'm writing this, but after making mail order of pipe tobacco illegal in 2009, and in 2010 refusing to advance our bills out of committee that would have made it legal again to mail order, the Washington State legislature is at it again, with a bill in the 2011 session to make it illegal to sell or distribute flavored tobacco.
Background Reading
An actual reading of the bill is a bit more harrowing, as it outlaws the sale or distribution of any tobacco product that doesn't smell primarily of tobacco. Obviously this would be a problem for Samuel Gawith 1792, Gawith Hoggarth Ennerdale Flake, or even something as simple as Captain Black or Lane 1-Q. From page 3 of the House bill:
16 NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 70.155 RCW 17 to read as follows: 18 (1) No person shall sell, distribute, offer for sale, or allow to 19 be sold or distributed any tobacco product or any component part 20 thereof that: 21 (a) Has or produces a distinguishable flavor, taste, or aroma other 22 than tobacco that can be readily perceived by a consumer or other 23 person through their sense of taste or smell either prior to or during 24 consumption;
Call To Action As of February 11 2011, neither bill has made it out of committee. Please take a few minutes and find which legislative district you live in, and check to see if your Representatives or Senator are on either committee. If they are, take a moment to email them -- phone calls are good too, but always follow up a phone call with an email. Put in the subject "constituent opposed to {House / Senate} Bill XXXX" and include that in the first few lines of the email too, and also in the closing make sure to ask that they oppose the bill, or if they can't oppose, that they consider exempting loose tobacco intended for consumption in a pipe. It's really important that you tell them that you live in their district -- that you are a "constituent" in political speak -- and if appropriate, tell them that you supported them in the last election. Some suggested talking points:
Find Your Legislator If you aren't sure who your legislators are, you can use the Find Your Legislator tool.
House Bill 1246 Details and status can be viewed at the Washington State Legislature web page here. As of February 9 2011, the bill has been read in committee but not amended or passed. The committee is Health Care and Wellness. The members can be viewed here (includes phone numbers, does not have email addresses) and is organized in a slightly more usable format below.
Senate Bill 5380 Details and status can be viewed at the Washington State Legislature web page here. As of February 11 2011, the bill has been read in committee but not amended or passed. The committee is Labor, Commerce and Consumer Protection. The members can be viewed here (includes phone numbers, does not have email addresses) and is organized in a slightly more usable format below.