www.eccauk.org/Public Service Announcement from The E-Cigarette Consumer Association
June 8 2013
ECCA UK is in the middle of a complete organisational overhaul. Due to the reorganisation of the Association, several changes are happening. ECCA is essentially wiping the slate clean and starting anew.
What does this mean for you as a consumer? The reorganisation of the Association will help us serve you better and in more ways, allow us to do what you require us to do as an Association. The following things are happening right now:
ECCA UK is transitioning to a new business model. It will no longer be a Limited Company and is moving into becoming a Company Limited by Guarantee. Please see this link for more detailed information:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_company_limited_by_guarantee Due to the business model changing to one that benefits its members on a much higher scale, ECCA UK will be implementing several changes to the membership set up, who can, and who can't vote. While the details are not yet final (and will be fully documented in a revised constitution), these are the basics:
There will still be a committee consisting of, at its core, a Chairman, Vice-chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. The Committee will be extended to include advisory or specialist roles - also known as Officers. Officers will have full voting rights at Committee meetings.
The current Forum Representatives are all Officers. As membership expands and further volunteers come forward, further Officers may be co-opted - changes to the make up of Officers will be voted on by the Committee.
Elections to positions on the core Committee will normally only be voted on at AGM (to get things moving we have had to shortcut that in the short term).
We are continually in search of new volunteers. We are splitting our time between Consumer Affairs and Advocacy. Anyone with a passion for either of these subjects is welcome and your contribution will help us take projects forward. Anyone with skills or experience in the following areas would also be a valuable addition to the team – graphic design; website administration; consumer law; public/press relations; analytical chemistry
General Membership is open to every consumer in the UK; they are invited to join the forum, report issues with products and vendors to ECCA UK, but are unable to vote in the Annual General Meetings or the Quarterly Registered Member Meetings.
Registered Membership is open to every person who pays a small annual membership fee (£5). (Please see the above link about the CLG business model for information on what this means to you) By paying this fee, you are entitled to vote in the Annual General Meetings and in Quarterly Membership Meetings, where your highest concerns will be passed onto the Committee for action to be taken.
Conflicts of Interest.
ECCA UK has decided that individuals with commercial, or otherwise conflicting, interests in e-cigarettes may be members, however, their involvement at all times will be limited to 30% or less of the TOTAL Registered Membership.
Any individual with conflicting interests that wishes to be a Registered Member MUST declare their conflict and contact the treasurer via email: matt@eccauk.org prior to Membership approval due to the limited amount of spaces available. Applications will be considered by the Committee on a case by case basis.
No-one with commercial, or otherwise conflicting, interests may serve on the official committee or as an Officer to the Committee.
ECCA UK will be issuing an entirely new Mission Statement. Because of the new mission statement, the current website and all information on it is considered outdated and in its present form, irrelevant.
ECCA UK will be redesigning the website in its entirety to reflect the new mission statement and to focus on issues that matter most to the consumer, and what ECCA UK is capable of doing right now with prospects of what it can do in the future.
ECCA UK has designed a new Donor and Membership Confidentiality policy, which is in line with the DATA PROTECTION ACT and must be adhered to by all members of the Committee and its Officers. Registered Membership will receive yearly reports in regards to financial information with certain criteria omitted as required by law.
ECCA UK is developing a Consumer Awareness Standards programme, which will be voluntary for vendors to participate in. This program is designed with the majority of the current standardisation issues (or lack thereof) amongst the Vendor community, for the benefit of the consumer. More information about this will be released when it is final.
While we are in the midst of these transitions, please join up at the new ECCA FORUM here:
www.eccauk.org/forum and get involved. ECCA is also now taking reports on defective or faulty product and vendors who consumers find are not adhering to specific laws here in the UK. If you find yourself having an issue with a product or vendor, please submit a report by visiting
eccauk.freshdesk.com/support/homeBecause of these changes, a new AGM has been postponed until the reorganisation is complete. At that time, we will release further details to the Registered Members of ECCA UK.
As a final note, ECCA UK would like to thank you for your support and patience while we are undergoing this reorganisation, which will result in a brand new Association for you, the consumer.
Regards,
The ECCA UK Committee and its Officers
