Thread by @lmstroud89

🧵👩‍⚖️Alright, we're starting the Colorado House Health & Insurance hearing.
Chairwoman expecting the 2nd bill (flavor ban) to run at least four hours...

2/First bill is on acupuncture

3/This bill has only 4 witnesses signed up for testimony, & 1 is in person - I hope that doesn't set a precedent...

4/This bill gets 3 minutes of testimony. The one we're focusing on gets only 2 minutes. I've gotten mine down to 1:57, but who knows, I may have to chuck it out the window once popcorn lung gets dropped.

5/Well, first bill is done, but now we've got a short recess...

6/And we're on HB 1064 with 148 people signed up to testify... That's 4.93 hours with 2 mins per witness.

7/Bill sponsors are up
-Representative Kyle Mullica
-"I wish a whole generation of kids never became addicted to these products."
(He's starting out hard)

8/Kids - flavors
-Apparently has met with opponents & has visited vape shops, and "impacts are not lost on me"
-What takes priority - the health of our kids

9/"These products are being bought by adults and being given to kids."
Dude just dropped the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey - well, 45.5% of current high school e-cig users cited friends & family; only 18.4% cited using e-cigs because of flavors

10/Apparently, in lawmaking world, it's okay to just pick and choose the data...
Ugh.

11/Snapshot of my testimony:

12/Co-sponsor is African American and an educator.

13/All about tobacco industry.
Tobacco targeting communities.

14/Going off on menthol cigarettes...

15/Oh great - sponsors want proponents to go first....

16/There goes my original testimony as I'm sure I'm just going to have to rebut all of the nonsense that's gonna come out....

17/First witness - Audrey
-She's testified on behalf of one of the sponsor's

18/Buried the lede there Audrey - should start out as you being a sixth grader - or like someone who cannot buy these products...

19/The worst part of the CTFK crowd is how they're programming children that government bans are the only way to fix anything.
Expect this to have ramifications 20 years down the road.

20/Next witness Edgewater, CO mayor on here now.

21/Mayor brings up how HS in his town is 2 blocks away from a smoke shop - well, why not pass restrictions on that dude in your own town?

22/Next witness, Legislative Aide for a St. Paul City Council member

23/ Next wtiness is a 20 year old college.

24/ Anna started vaping at 14 years old and has been vaping for six years and has wanted to quit...
I'm curious if she's actually stepped into a vape shop and asked for help on that

25/Then again, if that was my vape shop, I'd yell at her for underaged vape use threatening adult smokers' access to #tobaccoharmreduction products.

26/Spoke too soon - she's walked into a vape store "Everything in a vape store looks like it belongs in a candy store."

27/Oh Anna, you're gonna have a rough time in medical school dropping bogus statistics like that.

28/Vaping affects teens' spines and cartilage?!? According to this 20 year old six year vaper...

29/Urging the government to ban this.
WTF.

30/Next witness - the League of Charter Schools. Now that's an interesting one given the basis of what charter schools are...

31/ Next one is a mom to a 16 year old and and 18 year. 16 year old son apparently is addicted to vaping...

32/Whose fault is that? I started smoking at 16 and my parents searched my bags every day and stole my cigarettes back.

33/Actually the one time I smoked menthol was after they started smoking my confiscated cigarettes!

34/Husbands mom died from a heart attack and was a smoker - maybe that wouldn't have happened if she had access to vapes...

35/Next witness - another parent and former teacher/administrator

36/Apparently the previous woman's daughter is the one who gave his daughter a vape pen...

37/Daughter vapes because wants to fit in...

38/Dude doesn't think it will lead to a black market --- dude there is an epidemic of fake pills right now and teens are dying from them...

39/Article from six days ago:

40/Next witness - Glenwood Springs, CO mayor saying that there was no business impact on stores in his community

41/ Mayor just urged state lawmakers to push the ban to literally push sales (and taxes) outside the state...

42/ Next one is another mom - four years ago w/a then-14-year-old started vaping "to fit in"

43/Son has a "nagging cough"
I'll repeat - why is a person saying how they quit smoking using vape = anecdote, but a parents relaying are not?

44/ "My son likes to learn the hard way"
Sounds more like a parenting thing than a Big Tobacco is coming after my kid thing...

45/Next witness - Dean of Colorado School of Public Health

46/Apparently the first chair of TPSAC?

47/Starts off going hard on menthol.

48/Next witness - pediatrician with the American Academy of Pediatricians

49/How can a 4th grader order something online without a credit card?

50/ "New generation lifetime addiction to nicotine"
Nice CTFK boilerplate language doctor.

51/Next witness: another doctor - he's with the Denver chapter of the American Heart Association

52/Lols.

53/Next witness - Doctor representing the schools?

54/"The developing brain"

55/Colorado has the highest rates of youth vaping?

56/Lawmaker asking questions - it's gonna be a long night. We've only had 13 witnesses so far.

57/Last doctor was wrong on Colorado rates being the highest in the country...

58/Dang - they got an overflow room in the basement.

59/Next witness - from OneColorado - LGTBQ youth organization.

60/Next witness - mother of a middle schooler and a HS teacher from Aurora, CO

61/Found a vaping device on her daughter.

62/Next witness - Colorado Association of School Executives.

63/Next witness - Colorado Association of School Boards.

64/Flavors are only to get young people to try nicotine... Yep, that's the reason.

65/Next witness - Colorado Education Association and high school counselor and has a 4th, 5th, and 7th grade kids.

66/Again, more anecdotes. Friendly reminder, in the court of law, this would be considered hearsay....

67/They all keep dropping the same statistics - like come on folks, we've got so many people here - how many times do we need to hear the same freaking stat?

68/ Next witness - Colorado Rural Schools Alliance.

69/Vaping epidemic - inticing flavors - easy to conceal. Again, same argument.

70/More hearsay - my husban is a principal we often talk about it.

71/Weren't prepared to have school discipline data showing y'all are dealing with this?

72/This is the data I did to just write my testimony:

73/This is strategy for our overall toolkit... this is prohibition dude not a strategy.

74/Oh boy.

75/Next witness - doctor and mother...

76/Next witness - father and pallative care doctor. Dude should actually be FOR vaping...

77/ "Brains are still developing"

78/Frontal lobe of the brain not fully developed until age 25 - well why not make all laws based on that?

79/Kaiser Permante ... in support.

80/Next witness - OBGYN, Kaiser Permante

81/Need to see how much funding KP gets from Bloomberg

82/This lady is flailing her hands around...

83/"Protect the new generation from a lifetime of addiciton."
Good things we don't play - do a shot when they say this.

84/Next witness - LGTBQ representative.

85/Oh @imaracingmom they're talking about tobacco & dementia...

@imaracingmom 86/If the problem is driven by hundreds of factors - how does banning one part actually fix it???

@imaracingmom 87/Next witness - health care organization overseeing hospitals.
Had an addicted teenager that took lots of money for them to kick the habit..

@imaracingmom 88/"Stick to the science"
-"Harm developing brain"

@imaracingmom 89/Flavored vodka doesn't worry her - goes into dopamine from nicotine...

@imaracingmom 90/"Look like a USB"
$600/year paid in tobacco surcharges for insurance -yeah, there's a bigger problem there, seeing that vaping is 95% safer than smoking and all tehy're testing for is nicotine..

@imaracingmom 91/Next witness - former smoker?

@imaracingmom 92/Same language as the ones prior; gummy bear flavors; USB-looking device, Bloomberg-paid-drivel.

@imaracingmom 93/Even the lawmakers are like getting over this...

@imaracingmom 94/Next witness - Colorado public research interest group. WTF is that?

@imaracingmom 95/"the next generation"

@imaracingmom 96/Lady brings up FDA loopholes -"We can't afford to wait for federal action"
Apparently you're not caught up with the latest...

@imaracingmom 97/Next panel is started - all doctors.

@imaracingmom 98/Next witness - pediatriac pulmonologist.

@imaracingmom 99/Brings up how 1,400 Colorado kids becomes smokers every year - if you ban flavored vapes, you're guaranteeing smokers..

@imaracingmom 100/Next witness - oncologist w/a lung cancer specialty.

@imaracingmom 101/Dude is gonna spend a minute just giving his credentials??? Okay, have fun with that.

@imaracingmom 102/Well he got 30 seconds over...

@imaracingmom 103/Oh and it's CTFK's boy Philip Gardiner...

@imaracingmom 104/Next witness - pulmonary disease doctor.

@imaracingmom 105/Depend upon vaping in the absence of professional guidance... the FDA prohibits them from giving guidance...

@imaracingmom 106/Next witnesses - Denver Public School person and public health person and former smoker/vaper?

@imaracingmom 107/"Those flavors be so good I don't really care about the rat poison in them."

@imaracingmom 108/Next witneess is Brandon - HS sophmore in Denver.

@imaracingmom 109/Ran a vaping campaign at school.
"It's not that students don't have the education ... students understand the risks but choose to do it anyway."

@imaracingmom 110/We have a culture that enables vaping?
Go visit MA, NJ, NY or RI Brandon...

@imaracingmom 111/Next witness - Doctor representing his patients at Denver Health...

@imaracingmom 112/Prevent another generation from Americans becoming nicotine addicted...

@imaracingmom 113/Next witness - another doctor

@imaracingmom 114/This lady was at the Center for Tobacco Products at FDA... oh great, so she actually got paid by cigarettes smokers and user fees...

@imaracingmom 115/Falsely claims there is no studies saying that vapes are safe...

@imaracingmom 116/"Industry's latest marketing to get youth addicted to nicotine."

@imaracingmom 117/ I'll tell you the narrative has changed. Back in 2016, all these groups were like it's gonna get the kids to cigarettes - when that didn't work out - it's demonizing nicotine!

@imaracingmom 118/Next witness - mother lost her son to fentanyl... but apparently it all started with flavored vapes then went to THC then went to fentanyl...

@imaracingmom 119/I can't on this one - y'all know how I feel about the FDA and opioids...

@imaracingmom 120/HS kid is asked about where the kids are getting products.
Next Q to him about would kids use unflavored or DIY? (Fantastic Q!)

@imaracingmom 121/Kids are getting the products from a store?

@imaracingmom 122/Next panels are getting ready. A few look like teenagers.

@imaracingmom 123/Next witness is a HS junior.

@imaracingmom 124/"Do what's right for our children."

@imaracingmom 125/Next witness - Colorado Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs... makes sense why she's in this panel with teens.

@imaracingmom 126/Next witness - girl w/the boys and girls club.

@imaracingmom 127/Brings up how a friend bought "Vitamin E pods"

@imaracingmom 128/What teens besides like the dudes with trucks drink Keystone lights?

@imaracingmom 129/Next witness - Cooper with the Boys & Girls Club

@imaracingmom 130/All these kids just remind me of this kid...

@imaracingmom 131/Teenagers arguing for bans is just depressing.
Like, I'm fearful for our future...
They're gonna be our politicians in 20 years.

132/ Next is Lorrie - grandma and retired pediatrician and on youth organizations.

133/CTFK didn't update the talking points for these folks. Synthetic nicotine has been addressed yo.
It's gonna be another nightmare for me.

134/"Next generation"

135/They're setting up the next panel. Oof. This is has been going for 3+ hours

136/Next witness - represents a sorority chapter in Denver and a health collaborative

137/More of the same stuff - tobacco industry hooks kids and minorities with flavors

138/Next witness - Loveland City Council member

139/"healthier" product.
Dude also did not ask every single person that. I was on that hearing...

140/Next witness - Summit County Commissioner and an 18-year teacher.

141/Wait, did this dude just say that after allocating tobacco taxes to prevention programs, youth use went down? That's great - I'm gonna use that in my testimony ;)

142/Next witness - Eagle Co. Commissioner

143/"The ignorance of youth"

144/County is begging state for help essentially.

145/Next witness - Bolder County Commission and Health

146/If we're gonna cite HKCS, cite it all:

147/You haven't moved the needle as much as you wanted to because over the course of 20 years, for every $100 the state took in from taxes/settlement payments, they spent $8.20 funding TC programs.

148/Lady arguing in favor of preemption while asking the state for a statewide "fix"

149/Next witness - parent volunteer with PAVE!

150/I've heard her before in local hearings - 15 year old started vaping.

151/Vaping 1 pod every two days --> 2-3 pods daily?!?

152/Next witness - Pitkin County Commissioner

153/Quoting Pediatrics

154/Next witness - public health advocate

155/Finally brings up the "reasons for e-cigarette use" but doesn't drop the actual statistics...

156/Next witness - Tri County Health Department

157/This girl actually just said that there was no increase in cigarette sales in states neighboring Massachusetss...

158/Next witness - another PAVE mother!

159/Next witness - PTA organization and mom

160/We got brain development brought back.

161/Lawmakers are getting tired - no questions to the panel.

162/Next witness - Delta Dental Foundation and mother of a junior.

163/Gonna talk about oral health & vaping... vaping e-cigarettes increases cavities..

164/Skip has a page on this that's useful: safernicotine.wiki/mediawiki/inde…

165/Next witness - Family Physician organization.

166/Bringing up the "Healthier Kids Colorado Survey"
Curious if he's gonna drop the numbers...

168/Brings up how we've reduced combustible use...

169/Yeah dude and look at how e-cigarettes have helped...

170/Next witness is a tobacco cessation expert and runs the state's quitline...

171/Next witness is a Colorado Dental Association

172/Child of a parent that smoked - wish they could have had access to #tobaccoharmreduction products.

173/Vaping must not be such a big deal to him as he brought up synthetic as well.

174/"If nicotine could only be found in cat turds ... an addict ... will find a way to get their fix."
That's not stigmatizing at all.

175/Dentist complain about cigarettes but they make so much money treating tobacco-oral health stuff

176/Next witness - Colorado Cancer Center

177/Dude actually brings up "the ancedetol stories of the harms"

178/Brings up harm reductin - "In reality we don't know yet, and actually this does not stand on single continuum of harm ... two separate products ... combustible and electronic"
Get off our lawn dude.

179/Y'all pay attention - lawmakers don't care about tobacco monies - they're banning menthol cigarettes - these groups that make money treating smoking related illnesses - those are our real enemies.

180/"Help us avoid spending more time at funerals..."
Well, then embrace tobacco harm reduction.

181/Next witness - Action on Smoking and Health

182/More stuff on the tobacco industry luring children with nicotine and flavors.

183/And disregard typos folks.

184/Next witness - Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

185/Next witness - another Colorado Dental Association folks

186/"Gateway for addiction"

187/Next witness - didn't get her organization.

188/Minority communities and Big Tobacco jargon

189/Next witness - Phys Ed teacher and mom of teenage daughters

190/I think we're on witness 59 (of 148)

191/I will admit - nobody has dropped the "vaping leads to smoking"
But this lady did just drop nicotine leads to other drugs

192/There as a Lindsay Taylor earlier and they called a Leanne Wheeler. LOLS.

193/Bahahaahah. The pro-ban folks are no longer getting Qs from the committee...