:58MassachusettsTake action to oppose two bills that would make access to smoke-free tobacco and nicotine products needlessly more expensive.S 1576 S 1497 These bills are scheduled for a hearing onTuesday, June 20, 2017 at Joint Revenue CommitteeHearing Room A-2 Massachusetts State House 24 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02133Please attend this hearing if you are able to. If you can't then please takeaction now to oppose these bills by sending a message to committee members urging them to vote no on S 1576 and amend S 1497 to remove section 3! CASAA’s Call to action http://casaa.org/call-to-action/ma-take-action-to-stop-new-taxes-on-vaping-and-a-tax-hike-on-smokeless-tobacco/Full text of bills https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/S1576 Delawarehttp://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article156503354.htmlGovernor Carney’s FY2018 budget plan has a proposal to include vapor products in other tobacco (OTP) taxes. This proposal also includes a 100% tax hike on OTP, raising the tax to 30% of wholesale.Delaware’s budget needs to be finished by the end of June, so negotiations are starting NOW!Take action today!http://casaa.org/call-to-action/de-stop-governor-carney-from-taxing-vapor-products Much of what has started this is an urge to ban menthol. Anti tobacco activists want to ban it as it seems to be unfairly targeted to vulnerable communities and although it arises out of an urge to protect people it also unfairly targets all tobacco products including low risk products that many people use to reduce or stop their smoking entirely.http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=44&clip_id=28096#.WULE3BYvKkc.facebook A more ethical way of handling this flavor ban is to share truthful and accurate information with current vulnerable populations which allows them to make a better informed choice. The recording of the full hearing is available here http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php... CASAA Testimony from Jennifer Berger Coleman at It was a great resource for THR advocates and vapers to follow. GFN Hashtag on twitter here:https://twitter.com/hashtag/GFN17?src=hash NNA Alliance have some periscopes of the events here: https://gfn.net.co/2017/programme-detailsThe presentations are now available online to download and peruse at your leisure here:https://gfn.net.co/2017/programme-details Kansas HB 2230 Passed the legislature collecting only one no vote.This bill changes the tax rate to 5 cents per millilitre tax.It’s effectively a reduction in the tax rate.http://casaa.org/call-to-action/kansas-take-action-to-change-the-tax-on-vapor-products/ National Youth Tobacco survey results:http://www.csnews.com/product-categories/tobacco/drop-e-cig-use-drives-decline-youth-tobacco-use This may be unrelated but it seems as though it may be related to these results being released. Other groups are sending letters to FDA’s Scott Gottlieb to ask for a reduction or reform of the FDA’s regulation of nicotine containing products. https://www.clivebates.com/documents/FDAReformJune2017.pdf Delay the FDA comment on the citizen’s Petition today..http://casaa.org/call-to-action/delay-the-fda-comment-on-the-citizen-petition-today A listing of where to get CASAA updates1 here casaa.org/podcast/2 here @casaa-media3 here itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/casaa…dia/id1190244806