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• Utah Legislature: Lawmaker unfazed by threat from tobacco company 

Nicotine and candy don't mix, no matter what big tobacco thinks or threatens, Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, who has proposed a ban on new nicotine-laced gum and mints, said Friday in response to a threat by a tobacco company to file suit to stop him.

Altria has targeted him for targeting nicotine products in HB71, which has passed the House and is pending in the Senate.

The restrictions on nicotine products and flavored smokeless tobacco are a direct hit to big tobacco's survival and its biggest marketing plan that is designed to get a new generation of tobacco users who have understood more than any previous one the hazards of smoking, Ray said.

"Now they need to try to keep going by doping candy with the most addictive and deadly substance in tobacco," he said. "Utah has made a point of protecting our youth from the hazards of tobacco use, and now that they are targeting a new market with lozenges and mints, we think that's going to far."

The threat to sue the state over HB71, if it passes, is an attempt to scare the Legislature and continue with their strategy of going after kids, although the effort won't find any traction, because states are allowed under federal and state law to ban products it deems dangerous or a threat to the health of its residents.

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