You NEED to watch this...

[hifistud]

Monday 23rd May 2011 - www.vapourtrails.tv

You NEED to see it...

[jerryrm]

That's not good, Hifi, it appears to me that BP has struck again.

While not banned here in the U.S., the use of herbal medicines is frowned upon and are considered useless and potentially dangerous, by the so called experts. Of course, the "experts" try to push the BP concoctions on us, as being safe and effective.

I use Bach's Rescue Remedy for anxiety, I find it works better than any BP poison that I have used. I hope this new EU law doesn't affect it.

[Perpetua]

It's scary stuff Jerry, and the parallels between herbal medicines and ecigs are a real wake up call.

[hifistud]

It's a wake-up call - and it should scare the pants off ever e-cig user and vendor in the UK...

[ian]

Now that really does sink in,very worrying indeed.

[roachieuk (aka eciggery2011)]

Need to go stick it up there doo dahs dont they? this is scary times i dunno what i would do now without vapeing if they were to suddenly get rid of it .So does this inclide normal over the counter stuff and prescribed as all tablets and medicens have some sort of herb in them.

Herbal Medicines Ban Comes Into Force In UK

Patients have lost access to hundreds of herbal medicines today, after European regulations came into force.

Sales of all herbal remedies, except for a small number of popular products for ‘mild’ illness such as echinacea for colds and St John’s Wort for depression have been banned.

For the first time traditional products must be licensed or prescribed by a registered herbal practitioner.

The Government allowed access to some unlicensed manufactured herbal medicines via a statutory register

Both herbal remedy practitioners and manufacturers fear they could be forced out of business as a result.

Some of the most commonly used products were saved after the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley approved a plan for the Health Professions Council to establish a register of practitioners supplying unlicensed herbal medicines.

However, many remedies were lost as it was only open to those who could afford the licensing process which costs between £80,000 to £120,000.

At least 50 herbs, including horny goat weed (so-called natural Viagra), hawthorn berry, used for angina pain, and wild yam will no longer be stocked in health food shops, says the British Herbal Medicine Association.

More…Stem cell research is threatened by EU morality law

The 2004 EU directive demands that a traditional herbal medicinal product must be shown to have been in use for 30 years in the EU – or at 15 years in the EU and 15 years elsewhere – for it to be licensed.

The UK drug safety watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Agency, has issued more than a dozen alerts in the past two years, including a warning last month over a contaminated weight loss pill called Herbal Flos Lonicerae (Herbal Xenicol) due to concerns over possible side-effects.

Mr Lansley, in a written statement, said the Government wanted to ensure continuing access to unlicensed herbal medicines via a statutory register for practitioners ‘to meet individual patient needs’.

Acupuncture falls outside the EU directive and so remains unaffected.
Prince Charles, a long-standing supporter of complementary therapies, has voiced his support for formal regulation of herbal practitioners.
Up til now the industry has been covered by the 1968 Medicines Act. This was drawn up when only a small number of herbal remedies were available.

But recent studies show that at least six million Britons have used a herbal medicine in the past two years.

Professor George Lewith, professor of health research at Southampton University, said: ‘Evidence for the efficacy of herbal medicines is growing; they may offer cheap, safe and effective approaches for many common complaints

[Perpetua]

It's quite a complex issue this Roachie, as to all intents & purposes it is to protect the consumer and not an actual ban of any 'medicinal' herbal product. . . . however the conditions imposed on obtaining a license for a herbal 'medicine' are extremely demanding, not to mention extremely expensive for any company seeking to obtain one on a product.

All being well, Hifi & myself are going to record a piece this week, to be broadcast on VVTV next week, which we hope will show vapers what could happen to ecigs . . . . .

[roachieuk (aka eciggery2011)]

Yeah i was reading alot of things about this and that on this current subject and tbh im disgusted at what they have done tbh its getting on my box it seems the gov wanna control us so may aswell send us a microchip to insert in our brains and make us do what they want.Im new in my journey of vapeing and i dont wanna see it end up like this anything i can do to help you guys give me a shout and ill do my best.

[Perpetua]

Thank you Roachie - I don't think anyone disputes the need to have a level of product safety on all the goods we purchase, either in the shops or online . . . but it's the Big Brother dictates that remove our freedom of choice as consumers, that we need to be very aware of.

[roachieuk (aka eciggery2011)]

In the end perp we will be told what we can eat and cant i can see it happening may sound way out there but im sick of it all this dictatorship from the gov cause thats who it is at the end of it all.This has been in the books for a long time now with these herbal remidies i was listening to a radio show on it last october and back then it was on the scales but now its been tipped off and its finally happend.

In my next vote i shall vote for some nobody cause i feel my vote is wasted.

Cause as me dad says if you dont vote you cant have your say.

[Perpetua]

This is good news and another very good reason why we don't want ecigs classified as medicinal devices . . .

FDA Releases Detained Shipment; Agrees No Further Detentions Will Occur



As many of our customers are aware, on February 15, 2011, as part of our efforts to ensure the uninterrupted availability of our products to customers in the United States, Totally Wicked filed a lawsuit against the United States Food and Drug Administration in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Totally Wicked was forced to file the lawsuit after FDA detained a shipment of Totally Wicked's electronic cigarettes and e-liquids at Miami International Airport in October 2010 on grounds that the products constituted "unapproved new drugs" or "misbranded drugs or devices" in violation of the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act.

In addition to filing its complaint, Totally Wicked filed a motion for a temporary restraining order requesting an expedited determination by the District Court that FDA lacks the statutory authority to regulate Totally Wicked's products as "drugs" or "devices" under the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act. Totally Wicked also requested that the Court order the immediate release of the detained Miami shipment. Instead of filing an opposition to the motion for a temporary restraining order, the FDA immediately entered into settlement negotiations with Totally Wicked's attorneys from Thompson Hine LLP.

As part of these settlement negotiations, Totally Wicked submitted much of its marketing material and product labeling to FDA for FDA's review throughout the months of March and April 2010. Totally Wicked also enacted several measures related to its website forum to address concerns raised by the FDA regarding certain claims made by forum users about Totally Wicked's products on the forum.

Near the conclusion of Totally Wicked's settlement negotiations with the FDA, on April 25, 2011, FDA released a "letter to stakeholders" regarding the regulation of electronic cigarettes [http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/publichealthfocus/ucm252360.htm] wherein FDA announced that it would no longer seek to regulate electronic cigarettes as "drugs" or "devices" so long as such products are not marketed for "therapeutic purposes."

Following the conclusion of the settlement negotiations between Totally Wicked and FDA, on May 9, 2011, the FDA provided Totally Wicked with a letter stating that FDA "does not intend to detain or refuse future shipments" of Totally Wicked products under the "drug" or "device" provisions of the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act. On May 10, 2011, the FDA rescinded its "refusal" determination regarding Totally Wicked's shipment that had been held in Miami since October 2010 and released the shipment from detention.

Because the FDA had provided substantially all of the relief that Totally Wicked sought when it filed the lawsuit, on May 13, 2011, Totally Wicked voluntarily dismissed its case against the FDA, while retaining the right to immediately re-file the case in the event that the FDA fails to comply with its promised future course of action regarding Totally Wicked's products.

Totally Wicked is fully committed to ensuring that its customers in the United States continue to have unfettered access to our complete line of electronic cigarettes and e-liquids. We will continue to monitor FDA's activities relating to the regulation of electronic cigarettes and e-liquids and fully intend to take all measures necessary, even up to the point of further litigation against the FDA, to ensure that our products remain available to our customers and that our ability to import products into the United States remains uninterrupted. Thank you to all of our customers for their tremendous support—we look forward to continuing to be the premier supplier of electronic cigarettes and e-liquids in the United States for many years to come!

[Lee]

Good on TW for standing up to the FDA. This is good news. I'd be interested to see what the stuff relating to the forum was.

[hifistud]

The stuff relating to the forum is, basically, quit claims - they cannot be allowed at all on there, and we need to be very, very careful how we all refer to what we do - we cannot claim to have quit smoking, else MHRA and FDA will use it against us - seeing any such claim as an acknowledgement that e-cigs are a quit smoking device:

a product is also presented as a medicinal product whenever any averagely well- informed consumer gains the impression, which, provided it is definite, may even result from implication, that the product in question should, having regard to its presentation, have the properties for treating or preventing disease in human beings.

That's basically what that lot means, quoted direct from the MHRA...

[roachieuk (aka eciggery2011)]

May 18, 2011 15:53:18 GMT hifistud said:

The stuff relating to the forum is, basically, quit claims - they cannot be allowed at all on there, and we need to be very, very careful how we all refer to what we do - we cannot claim to have quit smoking, else MHRA and FDA will use it against us - seeing any such claim as an acknowledgement that e-cigs are a quit smoking device:

a product is also presented as a medicinal product whenever any averagely well- informed consumer gains the impression, which, provided it is definite, may even result from implication, that the product in question should, having regard to its presentation, have the properties for treating or preventing disease in human beings.

That's basically what that lot means, quoted direct from the MHRA...

I wouldn't say to be honest that ive quit its more ive switched if anyone asks me i say ive switched as its a NRT so you haven't quit "You've switched"this is really important for people to understand they must make it a habit on saying this.That way then we dont give the MHRA or FDA more bullets to fire off.

@hifi if i can do anything to help let me know and ill do my best good luck with whatever you do mate and lets hope if and when it comes to it all vapers will stand tall and fight against them.

[Clutter]

"whenever any averagely well- informed consumer gains the impression..."

I wonder whether there are legal definitions of "averagely well- informed consumer" and "impression" in this context ???

Whilst I'm in agreement that vendors' claims about e-cigs should be true and substantiated, I think it's outrageous that MHRA should attempt to restrict and censor forum users language when posting.