A reply from MEP's - Oh my! Very Positive :)

[deesigner]

Had to share this reply it really made me laugh, perhaps there is hope after all

Dear Denise

Thank you for your recent email this afternoon concerning possible proposals to introduce MORE EU regulations on tobacco/smoking alternative related products. We would oppose this in the EU Parliament, thus Nikki will be vote against any proposed directive or amendment that would legislate goods such as these sold in the UK . These proposals if passed would only add to the growing already very BIG list of reasons why we'd be better off out the EU!!

The smoking community needs EU intervention like a fish needs a bicycle – If changes need to be made, those changes should be taken by our democratically elected politicians in Westminster, not by faceless bureaucrats in Brussels.

Yours sincerely,


Josh O'Nyons

Office of Nikki Sinclaire MEP - We DEMAND A REFERENDUM MEP for the West Midlands Region

[Deleted]

let me guess .... UKIP :-)

[jakethevape]

Jan 23, 2013 11:47:14 GMT @ashmal said:

let me guess .... UKIP :-)

Very positive reply, however I find this to be very informal for a MEP responce?. Does anyone else feel the same?.

[Ron]

If it gets your vote at the next election they will promise anything

[deesigner]

Jan 23, 2013 11:50:05 GMT jakethevape said:

Jan 23, 2013 11:47:14 GMT @ashmal said:

let me guess .... UKIP :-)

Very positive reply, however I find this to be very informal for a MEP responce?. Does anyone else feel the same?.

Informal to say the very least!

Well this is 1 of the 7 West Midlands MEP's! Bless us LOL!

[alvoram]

She isn't UKIP she's "We Demand a Referendum" Party!

Edited to add...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Demand_a_Referendum

wdar2.co.uk/blog/

[deesigner]

This is the site I used to write to all the West Midlands MEP's www.writetothem.com/who?pc=ws12+4bl&fyr_extref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2Faclk%3Fsa%3Dl%26ai%3DCA9q4vgEAUfi4EceW0wXhj4CoBeeT4rQCp4O10gX7rKjwBQgAEAFQ5tz-hf7_____AWC77peD0AqgAYGLgf0DyAEBqgQhT9Dr2gN7CyWvAym9vbbs-a0CsefvcG1elqVLU4r_jkLRugUTCO-estTl_rQCFdJZtAodCFkAy8oFAIAH5_T-Ag%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dwest%2520midland%2520meps%26ei%3DvQEAUa_MGdKz0QWIsoHYDA%26sig%3DAOD64_1T4OEJdIW9XyWntEvoykvrbvPJxg%26sqi%3D2%26ved%3D0CCsQ0Qw%26adurl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.writetothem.com%2F%253Fkeyword%253Dmeps%2526creativeid%253D1424683119

[hgvroy]

Well she's an MEP and it's positive so it's a result, can't ask for much more. Good one Denise

[jeffc]

Well done Dee.

Hope Michael Fabricant (Cons)MP Lichfield returns a positive reply to mine.

jeffc.

[deesigner]

I have to admit that it wasn't the sort of reply I was expecting! It got me at 'fish needs a bicycle' bit On a positive note they have obviously read what I've written and answered to that effect rather than a standard reply.

[Sandra (aka Chillax)]

Great news, everyone against it is a huge bonus.

[Karma]

I've now had a reply from my MSP, i'll be getting back in touch regarding our concerns about the 'limit' for nicotine. Again, i find it encouraging that it is a proper reply from him, not a stock reply from spin doctors etc


Dear Karma

Thank you for your email regarding the position of electronic cigarettes in relation to the EU directive on tobacco and related products. Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding; my office was researching the topic thoroughly as this is not an issue that has been raised with me before.



I am happy to note your comments and I understand how important electronic cigarettes are to many people in Scotland who are trying to stop smoking altogether. The European Commission’s draft directive was published on 19 December as a long-awaited update to existing directive on tobacco (2001/37/EC) which is concerned with harmonising the laws and regulations surrounding the sale of tobacco products in the EU. It would appear from the draft directive that the sale of electronic cigarettes would not be banned if the individual products meet one of the two following criteria:



1) They do not exceed a specified threshold for nicotine content (still to be determined) and bear a health warning on the packaging, or

2) They are classed as medicine and subject to normal rules for prescription.



This can be extrapolated from the following excerpt from the draft directive:



"Extension of the scope of the Directive : Nicotine Containing Products (e.g. electronic cigarettes) below a certain nicotine threshold are allowed on the market, but must feature health warnings; above this threshold such products are only allowed if authorised as medicinal products, like nicotine replacement therapies. Herbal cigarettes will have to carry health warnings" (Page 9 of proposal and article 18 on page 39)



The proposals will be considered in great detail by committees of the European Parliament, and I contacted my colleague, Alyn Smith MEP, who has informed me that although he does not sit on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee which will take a leading role scrutinising the proposals, he has received a number of emails on this matter and will bear constituents’ concerns in mind, including yours.



I hope this is of some reassurance to you. If I can be of any further assistance to you in future, please do not hesitate to get in touch.



Yours sincerely,



Paul Wheelhouse MSP

Member of the Scottish Parliament for the South of Scotland (SNP)

[deesigner]

Oops!

[deesigner]

Nice one Karma

Jan 23, 2013 19:30:32 GMT deesigner said:

"Extension of the scope of the Directive : Nicotine Containing Products (e.g. electronic cigarettes) below a certain nicotine threshold are allowed on the market, but must feature health warnings; above this threshold such products are only allowed if authorised as medicinal products, like nicotine replacement therapies. Herbal cigarettes will have to carry health warnings" (Page 9 of proposal and article 18 on page 39)'

That's the problem part, the fact that they want to regulate nicotine levels above 4mg. 4mg will be no good to anybody and will mean a lot of people will go back to cigarettes, it will also rule electronic cigs out as a means for people who wish to give up analogs.

[Karma]

Yep, Dee....

this is why we need to write back stating what this means in real terms. e-cigs as we know them will become useless, to get any proper nicotine out of them we will have to buy/be prescribed a horrid tasting expensive pharma product

This MSP has admitted he knows nothing about e-cigs, so he should be open to education!

I find it strange though, that nobody else in the South of Scotland has raised this issue