State Rep. Gail Haines, R - Waterford, is one of just two Republicans and 14 total lawmakers in the 148-member Michigan Legislature to vote against a proposed law that would prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. She is also the chair of the Health Policy Committee in the Michigan House of Representatives, a position she really should not retain following a recent column she placed in the Detroit News urging Gov. Snyder to veto the legislation.
The governor is considering doing just that, on the advice of his Department of Community Health bureaucrats who want not just a ban on sales to minors but broad regulatory power to treat e-cigarettes like tobacco (and possibly even tax them as such.) Health cops are the same the world over: If they’re given a chance to stand in the way of a habit or diet that isn’t Nurse Ratched approved, they will. Regulators regulate: Asking otherwise is like demanding dogs not chase cats.
The Legislature is supposed to do its own homework and reign in the regulators when their bossy manner threatens to harm the freedom and welfare of citizens. The 96-14 vote in the House in favor of banning e-cig sales to minors, and the 38-0 vote in the Senate, shows most Michigan lawmakers took that seriously. Children are protected, while adults are treated like adults.
Yet in her Detroit News missive, Rep. Haines asks: “Do we want to wait for [the] feds to decide their direction while Michigan youth are becoming addicted to nicotine by use of e-cigarettes with flavors such as gummy bears, cheesecake, and cotton candy?”
Come again?
Source: http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2014/07/ken_braun_politicians_are_lyin.html
The governor is considering doing just that, on the advice of his Department of Community Health bureaucrats who want not just a ban on sales to minors but broad regulatory power to treat e-cigarettes like tobacco (and possibly even tax them as such.) Health cops are the same the world over: If they’re given a chance to stand in the way of a habit or diet that isn’t Nurse Ratched approved, they will. Regulators regulate: Asking otherwise is like demanding dogs not chase cats.
The Legislature is supposed to do its own homework and reign in the regulators when their bossy manner threatens to harm the freedom and welfare of citizens. The 96-14 vote in the House in favor of banning e-cig sales to minors, and the 38-0 vote in the Senate, shows most Michigan lawmakers took that seriously. Children are protected, while adults are treated like adults.
Yet in her Detroit News missive, Rep. Haines asks: “Do we want to wait for [the] feds to decide their direction while Michigan youth are becoming addicted to nicotine by use of e-cigarettes with flavors such as gummy bears, cheesecake, and cotton candy?”
Come again?
Source: http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2014/07/ken_braun_politicians_are_lyin.html
