Tom Miller

Iowa Attorney General

Tobacco Harm Reduction

He has written and spoke extensively on the need for a continuum risk approach to regulations pertaining to vapor products.

• March 30, 2021 - Letter to FDA about flavored tobacco products signed by Tom Miller and 15 other public health leaders
• October 5, 2020 - Letter to Directors Guild of America
• May 06, 2020 - The Harm-Reduction Quandary of Reducing Adult Smoking While Dissuading Youth Initiation
• March 31, 2020 - FDA and federal government statements on smoking, vaping and COVID-19
• March 26, 2020 - The Harm-Reduction Quandary of Reducing Adult Smoking While Dissuading Youth Initiation
• Nov 14, 2019 - Interview - Iowa attorney general stands up for e-cigarettes after winning 1998 big tobacco lawsuit
• Oct 30, 2019 - As other state officials warn of vaping dangers, Iowa AG defends vaping products for adults
• October 3, 2019 - Re: follow up to meeting regarding tobacco & vaping policy (24 September 2019) – a crisis in 2020
• August 6, 2019 - RE: Protecting Young Viewers from Tobacco Imagery in Streamed Videos
• July 24, 2019 - Re: Regulation of vaping products – a crisis in 2020
• November 15, 2018 - Let’s not overreact about e-cigarettes
• 14 November 2018 - Re: Youth tobacco and nicotine use – proportionate and responsible reaction
• October 1 2018 - Letter from seventy-two specialists in nicotine science, policy and practice
  • Innovation in tobacco control: developing the FCTC to embrace tobacco harm reduction
• APRIL 18, 2018 - IOWA AG TOM MILLER (D): JUUL OFFERS OPPORTUNITY TO REDUCE SMOKING RATES
• June 14, 2017 - Re: Reform of tobacco and nicotine regulation at FDA
• December 20, 2017 - Re: a framework for considering the appeal of flavors in nicotine products
• November 6th, 2016 - Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller gives outstanding speech on smoking, vaping and public health
• Dec 30, 2015 - Some surprised by Tom Miller's statement on e-cigarettes
• December 23, 2015 - Statement by Attorney General Tom Miller on Electronic Cigarettes

Bio

The harm of the combustible cigarette is dramatically greater than the harm of the e-cigarette

"The combustible cigarette is by far the most harmful consumer product known to mankind, killing 480,000 people each year in the United States alone. This is largely due to the many deadly toxins created and released by the combustion. A panel of experts estimates that the e-cigarette is 95 percent less harmful. Some push back on this study, in part questioning the ability to put an exact number on it. Another estimate is 90-98 percent less harmful. But whatever number is correct, e-cigarettes are dramatically less harmful than combustible cigarettes. There has been an effort to say that combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes are equally harmful, that their companies are equally evil, and that they should be strongly regulated the same way. This view is incorrect, but it has gotten significant traction. Polling indicates that 32 percent of Americans believe that combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes are equally harmful. This means that as many as 13 million adult smokers believe them to be equally harmful, and are very unlikely to switch when switching may save their lives. People making misstatements about e-cigarettes have the best of intentions—to keep kids from being addicted to nicotine through e-cigarettes. But adults misleading kids to get them to do what we want has always been a failed strategy."

Attorney General Tom Miller is serving in his 10th four-year term as Attorney General of Iowa. He is the longest currently serving attorney general in the nation. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1969. Mr. Miller served as a VISTA volunteer in Baltimore, Maryland, for two years, and then as legislative assistant to U.S. Representative John C. Culver (D-IA). He returned to the Baltimore Legal Aid Bureau as legal education director, and he also taught part-time at the Maryland School of Law. Mr. Miller opened a law practice in McGregor in northeast Iowa and served as city attorney of McGregor and Marquette. He has served as President of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG).

He was actively involved in the establishment of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement and has been a fierce and determined critic of the Tobacco Industry over many years. Tom Miller served on the Board of the Truth Initiative (American Legacy Foundation)

• Tom Miller is the Attorney General of Iowa. (Democrat) He has held that office longer than any other currently serving AG in the United States. He was actively involved in the establishment of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement and has been a fierce and determined critic of the Tobacco Industry over many years.
• There's a BIO at the end of this document submitted to the Vermont Legislature.

American Legacy Foundation aka: Truth Initiative

He served on the Board of Directors of the American Legacy Foundation / Truth Initiative.

• Sep. 08, 2015 - Next chapter begins as tobacco control leader becomes Truth Initiative. Same article as a press release
  • “To achieve a tobacco-free future, we need thoughtful leaders and policy makers across all sectors and we need the public we serve — smokers and nonsmokers alike – to understand who we are, what we do, and how we can work together,” said Tom Miller, attorney general of Iowa and chairman of Truth Initiative’s independent board of directors. “Truth Initiative tells everyone we are extending the legacy of the truth campaign and points to all that we are doing to end the tobacco epidemic.”
  • NOTE: Need the years he served on the BOD of Truth Initiative. He started his service to the organization in 2015. Was still listed in 2018