ANOTHER METHOD To Contact Your Officials.....

[jlew]

We are coming down to "The Wire" as it were....

In the past few days of worry and wracking my brain on how to help, I wanted to find
a way to contact All of Congress at once but have found that is nearly impossible as
Congress has, in the past couple years, done away with their personal email systems
and opted for Web Based Forms.

Most Official Websites only allow for limited messaging and only to Your Representatives so...

This is going to require Everyone's Help...

I found the Congress . org website and have put the link here to the page to contact your reps:
Action Alert: Contact Your Federal Officials

I originally had a 4 page letter prepared with much more information but found that
many of these "Contact Your Officials" sites limit the message space due to research
showing that longer letters tend to be overlooked.

So... Here is a copy of the letter I summarized to send on the site.

Feel free to use it and modify it as necessary to meet your specifics.

I would suggest you keep with using the Key Points in the letter such as the mention of
the Research Studies (especially that of Joel Niztkin, Chairmen of the tobacco Control Task Force),
and the 2009-2010 Court Decisions as well as mentioning the Petition and amount of Signatures.

SUBJECT LINE: FDA Proposed Actions Regarding NRT's and Smoking-Cessation Products

BODY:

I am writing on behalf of millions of people worldwide who are being faced with a very serious issue that could affect not only their health, but their lives.

On December 17, 2012, the FDA held a Public Hearing on actions to be taken regarding NRT's and Smoking-Cessation Products. This proposal will affect future regulation of "Innovative” products including E-Cigarettes.

The FDA has shown no compromise on this issue and has fervently shown “Intent to propose Deeming Regulations". These Regulations would apply Chapter IX of the FSPTCA to all current and future E-Cigarettes and under Sections 905 and 910, all e-cigarettes manufactured after 2007 would immediately become “contraband”. Other provisions of Chapter IX would decimate the e-cigarette industry, protect cigarette markets and otherwise threaten public health by removing all modern e-cigarette technology from the hands of people who are trying to reduce the harm caused by the thousands of hazardous chemicals, tar, nitrosamines, and carcinogens present in tobacco cigarettes. This will have an adverse affect on the lives and health of millions of smokers and non-smokers worldwide.

Joel Niztkin, Chairmen of the Tobacco Control Task Force for the American Association of Public Health Physicians stated: "...if we get all tobacco smokers to switch from regular cigarettes to electronic cigarettes, we would eventually reduce the US death toll from more than 400,000 a year to less than 4,000, maybe as low as 400."

Several questions are on the minds of the public:
1) If the ingredients in E-Cigarettes have already been FDA Approved for human use as “separate products”; how can the FDA say the same products when combined are no longer safe?
2) If the same FDA Approved Nicotine is found in both NRT’s and E-Cigarettes; how can the FDA claim NRT’s as “Safe” but the E-Cigarette is not?
And the biggest question on my mind --
3) If njoy and Blu, due to pre-2007 production, are immune from Deeming Regulation, FDA Approval is implied; then how can newer, safer, more efficient products be targeted considering njoy, Blu, and all current products share the same ingredients and features?

Regardless of Name, Manufacturer, or year produced, an E-Cigarette is an E-Cigarette. The only difference in those produced now as opposed to those in 2007 is the ones manufactured now are better.

In January 2010, the district court held the FDA may not regulate e-cigarettes as a drug or drug delivery device. The FDA appealed the ruling to the federal Court of Appeals in Washington, DC but on December 7, 2010, the Appeals Court ruled that since e-cigarettes are not marketed as “tobacco cessation aids”, the FDA does not have authority over them as a drug or drug delivery device. The court’s decision limits the FDA’s ability to test e-cigarettes for safety and prohibits the FDA from banning e-cigarettes entirely.

Currently there is a petition on the “We The People Website” titled “Prevent the FDA from regulating or banning the sale and use of electronic cigarettes, accessories and associated liquids”. This petition clearly shows a great amount of interest and concern regarding the FDA’s proposal and although it has yet to reach the 25,000 signatures required by February 13 to elicit a response, as of the writing of this letter, it stands at over 23,500 signatures.

If the FDA’s proposal is allowed to stand and is backed by Congress, it could mean that all of those 23,500 people stand to lose the only thing that has effectively kept them and their family members off cigarettes thus far.

I use to smoke 1.5 packs of cigarettes per day for over 34 years. On October 13, 2012, I bought my very first E-Cigarette and I have not had a single cigarette since. I can now breathe much better, I do not have a terrible cough, and food tastes and smells like it should. My home, clothing, car, and hair no longer smell of tar and smoke and there is no longer a sticky feeling on my belongings or furniture. I no longer need to fear burning myself, my children, or other people around me, and I do not have to fear burning my home down. My wife who suffers from allergies can now breathe better and does not experience the allergic reactions or nose bleeds that she used to with my smoking.

My whole family has benefited from this wonderful device and there are literally millions of others who have found this device and have reaped the same benefits.

So I ask you, on behalf of my family, myself, and millions of smokers and non-smokers alike…

Please, oppose the FDA’s Proposals for Deeming Regulations and stand up for public health by allowing the continuance of E-Cigarette use, sales, research, and improvement, and by allowing public education and truthful information to be shared about the E-Cigarette and its benefits and potential for Tobacco Harm Reduction.

Thank you and I look forward to your sincere response.

Hopefully, all of our efforts will be noticed and our government will listen and act in our best
interest and leave the E-Cigarette alone.

As long as we all keep doing our best and don't give up... there is hope

 

[TennDave]

THanks for the letter- I modified it and just sent it!!

 

[Vocalek]

For more ideas on what to write, go to CASAA: Call to Awareness: Sign Petition and Contact your Legislators!

See red heading, "But don't stop there!"

Phone calls or personal visits are the most effective, followed by faxed letters, snail mail, and then email.

 

[Berylanna]

For more ideas on what to write, go to CASAA: Call to Awareness: Sign Petition and Contact your Legislators!

See red heading, "But don't stop there!"

Phone calls or personal visits are the most effective, followed by faxed letters, snail mail, and then email.

I was wondering if we should start on this before April, thanks for the link! (I wasn't sure we should start so early because we don't know exactly what they will say, but then again, it seems to take a lot of time to build up public awareness.)

Can we also ask them to require the FDA to report truthfully on the content of their public comments?