Contact the FDA - Before December 28th!!

[Bill Godshall]

I urge everyone interested in keeping e-cigarettes accessible and affordable to submit public comments to the FDA by December 28 telling the agency your experience with e-cigarettes (e.g. it helped you quit or reduce cigarette consumption) and urging them to propose reasonable and responsible regulations for e-cigarettes and e-liquid as either a tobacco product or as a drug-delivery device.

To Submit a Comment go to:
Regulations.gov

Some e-cigarette policy options to consider urging the FDA to propose include:
- prohibit sale of e-cigarettes to minors under 18 (similar to tobacco and NRT),
- require e-cigarettes to be kept behind-the-counter (no self serve) in stores (similar to tobacco and NRT),
- perhaps additional marketing restrictions (e.g. no large outdoor billboards, no sports sponsorships, no ads in youth magazines),
- a warning label on e-cigarettes stating they "contain nicotine and can be addictive",
- manufacturer/importer laboratory tests/reports periodically sent to FDA to ensure safety and truthful claims,
- a possible flavoring ban for e-cigarettes (NJoy just announced a voluntary ban the other day),
- a possible ban on red/orange LED lights on e-cigarettes (as they can be confused with real cigarettes, which can result in smokers lighting up a real cigarette, and which pisses off anti smoking extremists to advocate e-cigarette usage bans).

 

[supertrkre2812]

Done!! But I doubt the "supreme beings", being "better" than the people that put them there will pay any attention to the "lowly" constituents.
Levy

 

[Drunkwaco]

I just have a hard time jumping on with the ban on flavoring. I think i'd just go back to analogs.

 

[myownslave]

i think i can live with plain juice and *edit* adjust them */edit* post shipment.

MOS

 

[Rhaevyn]

Which category do we choose in the pull down?

 

[DaShiVa]

I chose the individual consumer, seemed the most appropriate.

 

[cassavetes]

Done and done.

 

[tribalmasters]

I don't know what to put Never was good at these things!

 

[DWB]

What exactly is the FDA approving or banning? Im kinda confused

 

[thewomenfolk]

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I hope I didn't misunderstand the original post, but I think I'd have difficulty urging the FDA "....to propose reasonable and responsible regulations for e-cigarettes and e-liquid as either a tobacco product or as a drug-delivery device." To ask the FDA to regulate the e-cig as a tobacco product is to ask them to fool the public into believing the e-cig is what it is not, a tobacco product.

Although I believe that to think the FDA is interested in reasonable and responsible regulations of any kind is wishful thinking, I wouldn't discourage communication with them. But please let's not misrepresent the personal vaporizer to them as a tobacco product that should suffer the same regulations.

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[starling]

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Although I believe that to think the FDA is interested in reasonable and responsible regulations of any kind is wishful thinking, I wouldn't discourage communication with them. But please let's not misrepresent the personal vaporizer to them as a tobacco product that should suffer the same regulations.
-----

Agreed.
Done.
Wish all suppliers would put a link on their sites to this for their customers...Gotta get the word out.

 

[quasimod]

"Organization" is a required field. What does that mean?

 

[DWB]

Just say Personal or something

 

[quasimod]

OK, but what if that field is for routing comments to the proper place, or something critical like that? I should spend time writing something that's just going to wind up in a spam folder, somewhere?

 

[Vocalek]

The "Organizaton" field is your affiliation. If you are not representing a company, a non-profit organization, a club, etc., then you can just type "self" or "personal".

For those who can't think of what to say, here is a framework.

"Please keep electronic cigarettes available as a reduced-harm alternative to smoking. I smoked for (fill in number) of years. This product allowed me to (quit/reduce my cigarettes to x per day) as of (fill in date).

I tried (list the methods) to quit, but nothing worked until I began using an electronic cigarette. Since then (describe aspects of your health that haved improved - e.g., my wheezing has disappeared, I have stopped coughing, etc.)

Again, please allow these life-saving products to remain on the market while they are being evaluated."

 

[skydragon]

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I hope I didn't misunderstand the original post, but I think I'd have difficulty urging the FDA "....to propose reasonable and responsible regulations for e-cigarettes and e-liquid as either a tobacco product or as a drug-delivery device." To ask the FDA to regulate the e-cig as a tobacco product is to ask them to fool the public into believing the e-cig is what it is not, a tobacco product.

Although I believe that to think the FDA is interested in reasonable and responsible regulations of any kind is wishful thinking, I wouldn't discourage communication with them. But please let's not misrepresent the personal vaporizer to them as a tobacco product that should suffer the same regulations.

-----

I agree with you 100%. If we use that terminology they will use it against us and we are slitting our own throats.

Everything is in the terminology just as when they make laws. Be very careful how you phrase your comments. I wouldn't even use the word tobacco unless it is to say I have stopped using it. Nor do you ever want to call it a drug delivery device. If you want to use the term e-cig in your statement (as that is what they know it by) use it only once. The e-cig that is nothing like a cigarette. From that point on, call it a vaporizer. If there is a way you can think of to phrase your statement and get your point across without ever using the term e-cig, do it.

I know the OP is supposed to be head of an organization that supposedly backs us, but from what I have read, he is overly willing to make way too many concessions.

 

[skydragon]

The "Organizaton" field is your affiliation. If you are not representing a company, a non-profit organization, a club, etc., then you can just type "self" or "personal".

For those who can't think of what to say, here is a framework.

"Please keep electronic cigarettes available as a reduced-harm alternative to smoking. I smoked for (fill in number) of years. This product allowed me to (quit/reduce my cigarettes to x per day) as of (fill in date).

I tried (list the methods) to quit, but nothing worked until I began using an electronic cigarette. Since then (describe aspects of your health that haved improved - e.g., my wheezing has disappeared, I have stopped coughing, etc.)

Again, please allow these life-saving products to remain on the market while they are being evaluated."

Vocalek,

I like yours much better but why do we keep begging them? Maybe I am more radical but asking pretty please doesn't work. I think I would be calling them out on their motives. We all know it isn't their concern for anyone's health

 

[Raechel]

Done and done

This is my favorite parts of what I sent:

I am NOT fine with :
- a possible flavoring ban for e-cigarettes If minors can not buy them how can this be enticing to youth? Not only that young people are not interested in waiting to order flavors or even switching from real cigarettes. The real market here is 30 yrs old and up. It is no different then buying nicotine gum etc. Please let grown adults make their own decisions on flavors. After all menthol cigs are still legal. The two most popular cigarettes have always been regular flavor by far then menthol.

Please keep these legal in public places. This is no more harmful to the public than a nicitrol inhaler. In other words not at all.

I am switching to this product from cigarettes and I am 39 yrs old. My thinking is that flavors without tobacco flavor will keep me off cigarettes for good. My Dr is very happy about this. Please do not take away my choices.

 

[vettepwr]

Done, I hope they listen to us.

 

[oldtechno]

Well I sent mine, but I got to tell you--I doubt it will do any good.

You know, we get high government officals into office all the time--but how many of us have any say-so over what laws are on the book? The answer is--we don't.

You have to contact those government officals to enact or change a law-----not a branch office.