The UK will be against the Directive

[lordbarby]

I got this today:

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for your email setting out your thoughts on a proposal issued by the European Commission to amend current European law concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products. In responding to you I have been in touch with my Conservative colleague and leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group here in the European Parliament, Martin Callanan MEP, who sits on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety committee. He has been dealing with the legislation you refer to.

Among the products to be affected by the proposed changes are electronic inhalers, commonly known as personal vaporizers or e-cigarettes, which vaporize a liquid solution containing nicotine into an aerosol mist which is then inhaled to simulate the act of smoking tobacco. The Commission proposes to limit the amount of nicotine in solutions sold for use in electronic cigarettes to four milligrams of nicotine per millilitre, unless the products have been classified as for medicinal use. This would render the solution too weak to be a viable source of nicotine for smokers or ex-smokers, or would require manufacturers to apply for a costly licence to manufacture medicinal products. Mr Callanan has provided the response below which I hope you will find useful.

"You are not alone in contacting me on this issue - many constituents feel similarly strongly. I have examined the arguments and I see the potential e-cigarettes offer as harm-reduction devices to improve human health. I am particularly convinced by the fact that e-cigarettes offer concentrated nicotine to addicts without the 4000 toxins and carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, that use of e-cigarettes removes the risk posed to non-smokers (and especially to children of smokers) by second hand smoke, that e-cigarettes appeal to adult smokers seeking to quit but not generally to children or those not yet addicted to nicotine, that traditional nicotine replacement therapies proposed by the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry have had very limited success in helping smokers quit permanently, and that thousands of British e-cigarette users (and millions across the EU and the world) are likely return to smoking if the directive is amended as foreseen and nicotine concentrations are limited to 4mg/ml. I have no doubt that this will lead to a large percentage of such users dying of smoking-related diseases they might otherwise have avoided, with all the personal and societal consequences this would mean. Such arguments have led me to conclude that the proposed changes to limit permitted concentrations of nicotine solution sold in the EU are counter-productive and will do much more harm than good.

Changes to EU tobacco legislation have been expected for some time but were delayed by the recent resignation of the previous European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Affairs, John Dalli. His replacement, Tonio Borg, has expressed a desire to change the law before his mandate expires in June 2014. To prevent the proposed changes concerning e-cigarettes and all the negative consequences that would arise, we must work hard in the year ahead to build solid majorities in both the Parliament and the Council.

As a member of the Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety I will do everything in my power to make the arguments and convince other MEPs of the foolishness of diluting nicotine solution to the point of uselessness.
I would also encourage you to raise awareness among others in the vapourizing community. The internet offers considerable opportunities to draw the attention of a wide audience to the issue and to contact your elected representatives quickly and easily. If you have not already done so I would encourage you to write to your MP and request him to raise the matter in Westminster, and persuade other e-cigarette users to do the same. If we bring to the attention of the public, the political world and the media the strong arguments in favour of e-cigarettes as a harm reduction device and the number of lives which can be saved through their use, we have a very strong chance of winning the argument."

With very best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2013,

Martin Callanan MEP

[Deleted]

Blimey - first time I have agreed with anything said by a Tory. Nice one.

[lobeydosser]

Jan 9, 2013 11:57:05 GMT @ashmal said:

Blimey - first time I have agreed with anything said by a Tory. Nice one.

I agree, but please remember, this is only one Tory. We still have a lot of work to do.

[pjim]

Well this is good to see. It gives encouragement to people contacting there representatives, a real positive sign. Keep up the good work people.

[Ratfinkz]

Wow, first positive thing I've seen by ANY government on the new directive!!!!

Thanks for sharing!

[scaffman69]

Imo although ppl will try it wont make a bit of difference because they are all in the pockets of the big boys who pay legit back handers so to speak. Sooner or later it will happen.

[fagin]

Jan 9, 2013 12:57:08 GMT scaffman69 said:

Imo although ppl will try it wont make a bit of difference because they are all in the pockets of the big boys who pay legit back handers so to speak. Sooner or later it will happen.

Does the tinfoil hat itch sometimes?

[kibbster]

Succeed or fail it's the try that counts.
If you don't try then you can't complain if it all gets taken away because you didn't try to stand up for your rights.
If you don't, no one else will on your behalf.

[scaffman69]

I dont complain, i dont want no one else to do it for me either, iff it was gonna go through id buy shed loadsa a nicotine to add my own to the week as pea new juices. When i run out id order from another country. But yes i agree its a crappy descisision and deffo one for the big bakki boys, twohats they are.

[hifistud]

I've invited Martin onto VT Talk - don't know whether he'll come, but as he's one of my local MEPs, he may well do.

[lobeydosser]

Considering the amount of time that we have known that this directive "may" become fact, anyone who does not make a conscious effort to put away a reasonable amount of Nic Base, just in case, is taking a big chance on their future vaping hobby.

We do not know for how much longer Nic Base, PG, VG, Rebuildables and all the rest of our paraphernalia will be as freely available as it is at present and so I am just over halfway towards squirrling away enough to keep me happily vaping for the next 5 years.
Whether our hobby is banned, taxed, restricted or left alone, my vaping needs for the future is in my hands and not some ill informed group in either Brussels or Westminster.

I have written to all of my apropriate MP, MSPs and MEPs, but the answer (one) so far does not fill me with confidence.

[Deleted]

Jan 9, 2013 15:17:29 GMT lobeydosser said:

a reasonable amount of Nic Base

I need to buy a new freezer

[scaffman69]

@ lobeydosser, how would you store nicotine base.

[vereybowring]

A good reply but I trust not the word of politicians until after they vote on something. . .

even then they have excellent back-pedalling skills.

[esmecullen]

Sounds very promising compared to what my berk of an MP said............... still not heard a thing from my MEP ???