NEW YORK -- New Yorkers for Smarter Smoking Alternatives (NYSSA)--a coalition of retailers, wholesalers and distributors and adult members of the public who have come together to actively oppose the recent attempts by New York State to place harsh regulations on electronic cigarettes--held a rally at the steps of New York City Hall to express their outrage over New York State's recent proposal to tax electronic cigarettes and ban their use in indoor spaces.
"It is unreasonable to tax and regulate electronic cigarettes the same way as tobacco cigarettes," representatives for the group said. "Electronic cigarettes are clearly distinct products and therefore should be regulated differently than traditional tobacco cigarettes."
"Politicians want to tax electronic cigarettes so they can prop up their budgets on the back of sick and dead smokers," said Dr. Gilbert Ross of the American Council on Science & Health. "They are trying to take electronic cigarettes away from smokers that desperately need them."
"All adult New Yorkers, whether or not they use electronic cigarettes, ought to be outraged by this sudden and unnecessary shift in policy," NYSSA representatives said. "New Yorkers are already overburdened and over-taxed; they cannot afford to travel down this slippery slope of unnecessary and unreasonable taxation and regulation."
Watch the embedded video below.
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