electronic cigarettes

Steiner Hayward Renews Efforts to License Tobacco Vendors, Curtail Sales to Minors

A resurrected policy would put tobacco sales under the same scrutiny as alcohol and marijuana and give the OLCC the authority to police licensees. Current law against sales to minors applies only to clerks, not businesses, and as many as one-fifth of tobacco shops regularly sell to underage teens.

Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton, is working overtime to get the football past the goal line for one of her top public health goals -- reining in Oregon’s high rate of tobacco sales to minors.

By: 
Chris Gray

Multnomah County Commissioners seek comment on e-cigs

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners is considering possible action around e-cigarettes. You are invited to a public hearing on the issue on Tuesday, Jan. 27, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The hearing will be the fourth county meeting on the burgeoning e-cigarette market in Multnomah County. During a series of briefings last fall, commissioners learned that the sale and use of e-cigarettes is unregulated and unmonitored.

By: 
Julie Sullivan-Springhetti

Multnomah County Commission Shows Need for Tighter Nicotine Laws

Oregon is one of just nine states that doesn’t bar minors from buying electronic cigarettes, which along with traditional tobacco products are geared toward children with high concentrations of the same tasty chemicals found in Kool-Aid and candy. The tobacco industry has also exploited a loophole in the law that bans flavored cigarettes by offering candy-flavored cigarillos.

A meeting of the Multnomah County Commissioners on a wintry Thursday morning will likely set the groundwork for a push in Salem next year to regulate the highly unregulated electronic cigarette market and give authorities more control over tobacco sales.

By: 
Chris Gray

Democratic Veterans Expect Bipartisan Support for Top Health Policy Goals

Despite stronger majorities in both chambers for 2015, the top Democratic legislators in healthcare policy all say that they expect legislation on the biggest issues, such as Cover Oregon, marijuana and public health, to attract broad support. But other legislation which couldn’t overcome partisan hurdles in previous sessions, such as the Toxics Disclosure Act, should get the green light now.

The 2014 election has left Oregon Democrats with a much easier time pushing progressive legislation but at least for now healthcare policy leaders in the Legislature say they plan to aim for an agenda that will draw bipartisan support, much like the 2013 session.

 

By: 
Chris Gray
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