Hi Lisa Belle:
I see that you joined ECF in December 2010, but have only 51 posts (at the time of this writing). Perhaps you haven't come here on a regular basis.
There have been several petitions organized between 2009 and now. There are many currently active in other countries.
The first one in the US that I'm aware of was set up on the Petition Site in 2009. The goal was 10,000 signatures.
Petition:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/keep-life-saving-electronic-cigarettes-available/
The most recent petition was submitted to the White House.
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitio...&utm_medium=response&utm_campaign=ecigarettes
The required number of signatures was gathered and the White House responded not by telling the FDA what to do, but rather by punting the question to the FDA to answer. The response was the usual drivel about "If you want to quit, use the FDA approved medications".
Forehead smack! Gosh, why didn't
we think of that before!? Duh.
Here are a couple of discussions about the results.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/legislation-news/249012-reply-fda.html
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...cal-snafu-petition-president-kicked-curb.html
These petitions were supported by and promoted in this forum and all gathered the target number of signatures. They had no measurable effect on the situation.
Where we have seen measurable effects when there is a specific law being proposed, a Call to Action is issued, and a large number of citizens contact the elected officials to urge them to oppose or amend the bill. There is strength in numbers, and when sufficient numbers contact the lawmakers, some of them listen.
When a restrictive law is proposed in some other city or state, everyone needs to jump on the bandwagon together. When a restrictive law gets passed in one locality, it becomes the "model" that other localities point to as justification for passing a similar law.
When a restrictive law is proposed in your own community, the most effective action you can take is to personally contact lawmakers and talk to them either in person or on the phone. Tell them your story about how a smoke-free alternative helped you escape from smoking. Ask them to keep the products available so that other smokers can escape, too. If you can't talk to the lawmakers, send them letters delivered by US mail or Fax.
If the law is being proposed in another jurisdiction, send an email.
The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA) has a section of the web site dedicated to Calls to Action. Click "Call to Action" in the navigation bar at the top of the screen and a list drops down.
http://casaa.org/Home_Page.htmlhttp://casaa.org/Home_Page.html
Here is an example:
CTA: Alabama
Each "CTA" describes the proposed legislation, provides a link to the text of the bill, provides tips on what to say, and gives contact information for the legislators who have control over the proposed legislation (e.g., members of the House Ways and Means committee). For those who want to send an email blast, there are two email lists; one is comma-separated and the other is semi-colon separated to accommodate different email editors.
