Yes. Petitions are a good thing to sign up for, as the number who sign them is important.
Some think that physical action is more important in the end: visiting your Congress or Senate rep's office, phoning them, writing them, and so on. Emails tend to be ignored or treated as spam, due to their volume. City officials are also useful to try and influence, if there is an upcoming vote on an ecig-related topic.
Get CASAA's pdf downloads and print some off, also some free ECF bizcards, and take these to the people who matter in legislation. Your doctor is also a useful person to talk to as some have no knowledge of ecigs, or have only heard the blatant lies issued by the pharmaceutical pressure groups and the FDA. Give them the literature, which presents facts as against pro-pharma spin.
Electronic cigarettes are principally under threat due to the harm they will do to the pharmaceutical industry's income - a potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars when people don't need their ineffective and expensive NRTs any more. Pharma industry pressure, backed by a lot of money, is the main problem for us, and what we need to counter.
We don't regard the
tobacco industry as a major threat currently, since they haven't visibly backed anti-ecig groups such as those funded by the pharma industry, and as there is little evidence of pressure from them now. It may be that they now see the electronic cigarette as a potential alternative income stream if
tobacco comes under even more pressure - as it probably will.
The other potential threat to ecigs comes from State and federal tax revenue authorities, because when tobacco sales start to fall, a shortfall in tax revenue will start to be seen. But it seems that, as yet, they haven't really woken up to this issue. The generous distribution of funds by the pharma industry is the main problem facing us at this time. Any ways that can be found to counter this will be productive.
