Finally did it

[thundercat]

Its took me ages I know, partly through fear and partly not knowing what to write. Just sent my letter to 3 MEP's and 1 MP and have asked them politely to actually read my letter and reply with what actions they are going to take on my behalf. I kept it personal to me so if its ok with you I'll not post what I wrote.

But I will keep you updated what I get back.

[thundercat]

Here's the first and extremely quick reply.From the other three I have had acknowledgements that they have received my emails.

Mmmmmm... does this look familiar to you?

Dear Mr Bell

Many thanks for writing to me about the important issue of the EU
Tobacco Products Directive, and how it will affect electronic
cigarettes.

Because e-cigarettes are a relatively new product they are regulated
differently in each EU country. Some countries allow e-cigarettes to be
sold without any regulation at all. Others have banned the sale of
e-cigarettes. As the UK is part of the EU's internal market it is
important that we harmonise the way we deal with this product, otherwise
consumers could be buying unregulated products which do not conform to
basic safety standards, either within their own country, or by easily
purchasing it over the internet from a neighbouring country.

The European Commission has proposed that all 'nicotine containing
products' with more than 2mg per unit should not be classed as tobacco
products. Instead, under the Commission's proposals, nearly all
e-cigarettes will need to get authorisation as a pharmaceutical product,
in the same way as nicotine patches, sprays and gums.

Of course there is a balance to strike. On one hand e-cigarettes have
the potential to be a helpful way to help somebody quit smoking entirely
and greatly improve their health. On the other hand e-cigarettes
currently can contain up to 48mg of nicotine - far more than a regular
cigarette, making them highly addictive. As nicotine is the drug that
makes cigarettes addictive, somebody that tries e-cigarettes could be
much more likely to go on to smoke regular cigarettes. Furthermore,
there is no evidence that e-cigarettes are safe, and it is concerning
that they are being marketed as a 'healthy' alternative to smoking.
Currently we do not have any conclusive evidence either that
e-cigarettes are helpful for giving up smoking, or that they encourage
it.

While we do not have this scientific evidence to rely on I think it is
wise to have a cautious approach to e-cigarettes. If they are
effective in helping people to stop smoking, then it is appropriate that
they are regulated in the same way as other smoking cessation tools,
such as nicotine patches.

The Commission proposal is not final and there will be many months of
negotiations by the European Parliament, as well as health ministers
from the UK and other EU countries, before the legislation is agreed.
During this time Labour MEPs will be looking carefully at all of the
measures and trying to find the best way to ensure that we effectively
reduce smoking rates in the UK and across Europe.

Thanks again for writing to me on this important issue.

Best wishes
Stephen S Hughes MEP

North East European Constituency Office
Room 4/38
County Hall
Durham
DH1 5UR

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

[MarkS]

Reading your post this morning inspired me to send off emails too and I also attached doodlebugs information handout.

Seeing this and other replies received though it seems the MP's/MEP's have had a circular sent to them with how to reply to concerns regarding the proposals.

I'm not usually a cynical person, but I have a feeling their minds are already made up on this issue.

Be interesting to see some of these MP's/MEP's shares stock wouldn't it?

[Super-Shiny]

Feb 18, 2013 10:51:44 GMT MarkS said:

Seeing this and other replies received though it seems the MP's/MEP's have had a circular sent to them with how to reply to concerns regarding the proposals.

Sounds about right :-[

[Jen]

I got that reply back from my Labour MEP - wrote back saying I was disappointed at receiving a stock response when my original email wasn't a cut and paste job, asked a few more questions. No reply as yet. Very disheartening

[thundercat]

My reply

Dear Stephen,
Thank you so much for responding so quickly. I thank you for taking the time, I realise that you must be extremely busy.

However I feel that this reply does not address my concerns. I am in agreement that there needs to be a lot more done to counteract tobacco cigarette consumption especially within younger people and to be honest I applaud the EU for this.
But,this directive should not be targeting electronic cigarettes in any way. They are used as a recreational product, do not in any way announce that they are a cessation aid nor are they a product that is used to "quit" cigarettes. They do not contain tobacco. They do not contain poisons. There is no tar. They do not contain carcinogens.They are simply an alternative device in which to obtain nicotine which, as it is turning out, is significantly LESS harmful than a burning cigarette. We need to remember that currently, Nicotine is not illegal.

I expect you to do everything in your power to highlight my thoughts and wishes on the subject to the EU at the appropriate time. Please advise me as to what you intend to do to help me continue using electronic cigarettes.

Regards

[MarkS]

The thing I worry about is fair and proper scientific research counts for nothing if it does not fit the political agenda.
Ask Professor David Nutt. He knows all about that.

[thundercat]

Thing is , you know , every UK smoker rolled over to get their belly rubbed when the smoking ban was announced, myself included. I'd like to bet that not one single smoker likes going outside in the belting rain or freezing conditions in winter but they let it happen and they accept it even now.
If we ALL don't voice an opinion contrary to someone elses thoughts and ideas.. we will end up the same. And I don't want that to happen. Do you?
We have a better chance because we have forums and tv channels and communication like nothing smokers had/have. So tell them you do not want it to happen.

[brysoni23]

Do any MEP's and MP's Smoke?
We could do with sending them a starter kit and ask what they think then.

[kibbster]

Personally my MP and MEPs appear to be a shower of shite, the lot of them.
Wrote to my MP twice with no response and wrote to my three MEPs and got a "we will answer in due course" email from a PA and that's it.

Very disheartening but not entirely surprising, I never trusted or liked MPs anyway.
Not exactly sure what they are doing in their ivory towers apart form living off tax payers expenses but they certainly don't seem to be working for me.

[thundercat]

Sure I've seen this one aswell.

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.

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.

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 understand 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 to return 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 that they
might otherwise have avoided. 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 more harm
than good.


As a member of the Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public
Health and Food Safety I will put forward these arguments and work to
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. If you have not
already done so I would also encourage you to write to your MP and
request that they raise the matter in Westminster. 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.

I would be happy to receive your comments and suggestions as we move
through the legislative process. I have offices in the UK and in
Brussels and if there is anything else you would like to bring to my
attention, please do not hesitate to get in touch. I am here to work on
your behalf and would be delighted to hear from you.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Callanan

Conservative Member of the European Parliament for the North East

Leader, European Conservatives and Reformists Group

[MarkS]

That is a very good and promising response.

I've only had one reply so far telling me I had emailed the wrong MP. doh!

I knew he was just outside my constituency, but thought I'd chance my arm and hopefully get him to have a little look into it.

I have also emailed my correct MP and MEP's though.

[meeee]

The responses are interesting, they seem to be all very simular, I wonder if they have a bank of predefined ones created for any new laws they are planning to pass and expect people to contact them over. I also got a paper one sent to me on House of commons paper which again was just a generic response.

[Jen]

I think in one way, it's a positive thing as you could see it as them having so much correspondence on this issue they've had to put together a stock response. On the other hand, as you say, they could have already made their minds up and be fobbing us all off with it. Time will tell.