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Meeting Public Comments

Subcommittee meeting and times are as follows:
SF 2480
A bill for an act relating to the taxation and regulation of alternative nicotine products and vapor products, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly SSB 3193.)
Subcommittee members: Siegrist-CH, Wessel-Kroeschell, Young
Date: Monday, April 27, 2026
Time: 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
Location: RM 304
Names and comments are public records. Remaining information is considered a confidential record.
Comments Submitted:

04-26-2026
Scott Kaas [Gold Ribbon Mom and Dad]
Our advocacy group, Gold Ribbon Mom and Dad, will be at the Capitol for this meeting on Monday, April 27th at 12:30. We will share our stories, real stories about Iowa kids that had been diagnosed with cancer and treated at Stead Family Children's Hospital. We will ask the House Ways and Means subcommittee to support this tax on Vape and similar products to fund pediatric cancer research at the University of Iowa division of pediatric oncology, the team is currently lead by Dr David Gordon. With their yes vote, this is a historic opportunity to help Iowa's kids that have been diagnosed with cancer. We've been working on this funding for 3 years and will continue as long as it takes to save lives, change treatment protocols, discover new drugs, continue with clinical trials and make the best effort possible for Iowa's kids!
04-26-2026
Brooke Kaas [Gold Ribbon Mom and Dad]
Critics and lobbyists will tell you this isnt the perfect bill so it shouldnt be passed. Im willing to bet the majority of those people havent had to hold their child down while theyre pumped full of poison to try to save their lives, but I have. Maybe this isnt the perfect bill, but it is a step in the right direction. An historic momentum building bill. Anyone that has seen the effects of adult chemotherapy on children would agree, this money would be transformative for pediatric cancer research in the state of Iowa. Our kids deserve better and we implore you to start here today.
04-26-2026
Michelle Foth [Gold Ribbon Mom & Dad]
We are a pediatric cancer family and we will be in attendance at this subcommittee meeting tomorrow. We respectfully ask that you please support this tax to fund children and families at Stead right now who are fighting for their lives, and families in the future who will receive the devastating diagnosis that their precious child has cancer. With your vote supporting this bill, it will not only be an historic investment for the State of Iowa, but it will also provide hope for vital research for improved treatments and better outcomes for these children and their families.
04-26-2026
Marti Post [Gold Ribbon Mom and Dad]
SF 2480 delivers something pediatric cancer has never had in Iowaa dedicated, sustainable funding stream.Right now, children with cancer rely on limited, inconsistent funding while facing lifethreatening diagnoses that cannot wait. This bill directs the first $3 million to pediatric cancer research at University of Iowa Stead Family Childrens Hospitalsupporting innovation, treatment advancement, and real chances at survival.Concerns about the tax are valid, but they should not outweigh the immediate impact this funding provides. This is not the final step on vaping policyit is a decisive step for kids with cancer.If you are weighing tradeoffs, please consider this: delaying action delays research. And delayed research costs time children do not have.Please vote yes to move this forward.
04-27-2026
Kristi Polonsky [Gold Ribbon Mom and Dad]
We support SF2480 because pediatric cancer research is deeply personal to our family. In July 2025, we lost our son, Jack, at age 15 after a threeandahalfyear battle with Tcell lymphoblastic lymphoma. Jack endured treatments that were adapted from adult cancer care, not designed specifically for childrens growing bodies. Those treatments gave us time, but they also caused lasting harm.Children are not small adults. They need treatments developed for their brains, hearts, bones, immune systems, and futures. Revenue from alternative nicotine products can help fund research that gives children better, safer options.Jack wanted cancer to be better for the kids who came after him. Please support SF2480 and help Iowa invest in pediatric cancer research. Kristi and Jason Polonsky
04-27-2026
Isabelle Ireland [Gold Ribbon Mom and Dad]
Our advocacy group, Gold Ribbon Mom and Dad, will be at the Capitol on Monday, April 27th at 12:30, and Ill be there not just as an advocate, but as a pediatric cancer survivor who was given a 10% chance of living at 16. My cancer was so rare that most of my treatment involved uncertainty and guesswork, and while Im deeply grateful for the doctors who fought to save my life, I now live with lasting side effects from the toxic treatments that made survival possible. We will share real stories like mine and ask the House Ways and Means subcommittee to support this tax on vape and similar products to fund pediatric cancer research at the University of Iowa Division of Pediatric Oncology, led by Dr. David Gordonbecause this is a critical opportunity to improve treatments, advance research, and give kids facing cancer better odds and better futures