[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman]
Left in Form on American Legacy Web site:
I am appalled at your policy, "Unless and until the FDA determines that e-cigarettes are safe and effective, they should be taken off the market." Tens of thousands of us have found them to be effective as a substitute for ALL of our tobacco cigarettes, after failing to achieve smoking cessation with all the FDA-approved nicotine weaning products. Some even risked their lives and sanity using the FDA-approved-as-safe Chantix. Those of us in this category require sufficient levels of nicotine to maintain mood, memory, and concentration. If you get your wish and e-cigarettes are taken off the market, you are condemning us to go back to tobacco to avoid cognitive impairment. Read the 12000+ comments at
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/keep-life-saving-electronic-cigarettes-available. Like me, many thousands of e-cigarette users are reporting improved lung function and blood pressure. We are at a loss to understand how you can possibly believe that smoking tobacco is SAFE for us to do during the years that it takes for government-sanctioned clinical trials to be conducted.
[/FONT]
From: Communications <press@americanlegacy.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5:23:52 PM
Subject: Re: Electronic Cigarettes Policy
Re: Electronic Cigarettes Policy
[FONT=Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]
Thanks for your email. We truly appreciate your comments and concerns.
There is no surefire way to quitting smoking. In fact, it takes an average of eight quit attempts. However, if people are going to try a method of quitting, we hope that it is an approved method. What works for some may not work for others. As a public health organization, our first priorities are health, safety and efficacy. In lieu of such, we stand by our statement and the recent findings of the FDA. We are happy to be a part of this larger discussion, but the debate remains between the FDA and the e-cigarette industry.
In no way to we think tobacco is safe. But it is a legal product in our society. It is a social justice issue and a public health concern, but that is a greater debate in itself.
Thanks again for your email.
We wish you the best of health.
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman]American Legacy Foundation[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]
Mine back at them (I'm not holding my breath waiting for a response):[/FONT][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman] [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman][/FONT]Thank you for responding. There are a few things I don't understand.
- How is it in the best interests of health and safety to sabotage the success of thousands and thousands of people who finally became ex-smokers? You are advocating the removal from the market the one thing that provides enough nicotine to allow them to function normally without smoking tobacco. It is a tremendous risk to public health to gamble on the slim hope that all of these people magically will be able to function just fine without nicotine.
- I do agree with you that there is no surefire way to quit smoking tobacco. So why would you hope that people would restrict themselves to "an approved method"? What if snus works for some? What if Ariva works for others? Should we remove every product from the market that some people have found to be an acceptable substitute for smoking, just because those products are not "approved"?
- Why do you believe that an "approved" method is any sort of guarantee that a product is safe and effective?
- The fact that the FDA has a recall system should tell you that safety is never fully addressed in clinical trials. As you know, clinical trials carefully select participants in order to limit the number of variables that must be addressed in the studies. Once those drugs are approved, being prescribed, and used, serious problems can emerge among populations that were excluded from the clinical trials. Zyban and Chantix are excellent examples of this.
- The FDA-approved products to help people stop smoking have success rates that range from single digits to perhaps 20%. You aren't winning the war on smoking with these products.
- If you stand by "the recent findings of the FDA," then you understand that the FDA testing showed that electronic cigarette cartridges contain a tiny fraction of the number of dangerous chemicals found in tobacco, and in vastly smaller quantities, correct?
All that being said, it should be kept in mind that the inventors and manufacturers never intended for electronic cigarettes to be "smoking cessation" products. The intended purpose is to function as a substitute for smoking. They are incredibly effective at providing an alternate source of nicotine so that people no long have to rely on cancer sticks!
Characterizing them as a medical device ensures that it will be many years, if ever, before these products will become available again. This punishes the users who succeeded in quitting smoking and it denies that opportunity to 40+ million current smokers.
Electronic cigarettes are a consumer product. As such, it is consumers who determine whether they are effective or not. They vote with their money. The electronic cigarette does not fall into any classification of consumer product that requires proof of safety BEFORE it can be marketed.
Nevertheless, we already have our proof of safety. If there were anything inherently dangerous in the electronic cigarette, you would know it by now. The products have been in use in China for over 5 years, in the UK for over 2 years, and in the US for nearly a year. It is true that reports on health effects have been pouring in on the World Wide Web. People are reporting health improvements.
If you truly wish me "the best of health" then please don't kill me with kindness.
