Another positive response

[Deleted]

Ok peeps, I need some advice here ... I've been badgering MEPs en masse since last December and have continued to reply to their standard mails and throwing links at them. Finally got this reply from a Tory MEP and it seems that I've had some success. She's offered to listen more to further suggestions. I was considering mailing her back to back up Katherine and the ECITA's message. Thoughts?

This is the mail from Marina ...

Dear Mr. Ash (edited of course)

Thank you for your reply.

On your behalf I have contacted my colleague Mr. Martin Callanan MEP, who is Leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament. Mr. Callanan is working directly on this dossier within the Health committee and has provided the following response to me, which specifically covers "e-cigarettes", for your attention:

"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."

Should you require further information do not hesitate to contact me again in the future.

Kind regards,

Marina Yannakoudakis MEP, Conservative, London region

[matt1988]

I think another member got a similar reply! This Mr Callanan seems to be very much on our side, and the more MEP's that are aware the better!

[genguskhan]

another MEP that I like I would link her to ECITA and a link to here so that she can see what we are all about and the support and information on venders thanks for your efforts Ash

[OneDay]

Great reply! Well done Ash on the campaigning

[giles]

Great reply, but she seems to be talking mostly about the 4mg limit. Maybe it is worth writing again to say that we need the "characterising flavours" and that the problem with making it a pharma product is not just the cost, it is that we'd end up limited to a small range of cigalikes and juices because nobody would do the research on anything else, and all the R&D on devices would stop dead.

[AnnaLaw]

I received an identical reply via my MP and via my Con MEP back in January.
This was, of course, before anybody mentioned flavours in eliquid.
In fact I thought that the TPD was only about flavours in tobacco until elites brought it up by saying they'd be happy with tobacco and menthol (all they sell) then the 'bubblegum' business was brought up in comittee.

ECITA have a template letter for us to send, with space to personalise.
I know I hate both menthol and tobacco flavours and would rather go back to smoking that only have them. Flavourless isn't as much of a problem for us if the strength is high enough because we can add a few drops of concentrate. Of course new vapers and the vast majority who buy cigalikes at their supermarket/corner shop/garage know nothing about any of this.

We are not only fighting for ourselves but for the majority who buy cigalikes and vapers-to-be.

So I'm writing yet another letter to all of them.

[matt1988]

AnnaLaw agree, for us that are currently vaping its fine. There will be no restrictions on flavouring as it won't contain nicotine, and if it does goes to 4mg/ml we could source our nicotine overseas (is Guernsey part of the EU?) Not ideal but options.

But the up and coming ones won't know how to acquire this stuff and will be forced to carry on smoking.