House Subcommittee Examines Implementation of Tobacco Control Act

[AgentAnia]

House Subcommittee Examines Implementation of Tobacco Control Act | NACS Online

The sole witness at the hearing was Dr. Marcia Crosse, director of health care at the GAO [General Accountability Office, a Legislative Branch agency], who has been leading efforts to oversee the TCA’s implementation. The Subcommittee invited the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to testify, but it refused to do so — a decision met with some sharp criticism by Subcommittee leaders. Combined, CTP and FDA have about 500 employees and nobody was apparently available to participate.

 

[Jman8]

Also from the article

The sale of electronic cigarettes also gained some attention, although the topic was not a central issue during the hearing. Some Democrats raised the specter that e-cigarettes are a "gateway" drug, while U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) countered that the products could be helpful in smoking cessation.

I wish there was a way to avoid political partisanship on eCigs, but it's going to be tough when the above is happening in the House.

 

[zoiDman]

Thank you for Posting this Ania.

From your link...

...

The sale of electronic cigarettes also gained some attention, although the topic was not a central issue during the hearing. Some Democrats raised the specter that e-cigarettes are a "gateway" drug, while U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) countered that the products could be helpful in smoking cessation.

Isn't someone like Rep. Shimkus the type of person that we would want to Contact and tell him how Beneficial e-Cigarettes have been for us to Quit Smoking?

 

[Bill Godshall]

I've been sending lots of stuff to (and have met with) House E&C staff, and staff of Joe Pitts and Tim Murphy.

I sent the staff several questions inquiring about the FDA's failure to process its huge backlog of 3,000 Substantial Equivalence (SE) reports (that were submitted back in 2011), and how the FDA could simultaneously process many more new reports and applications (if/when the FDA imposes the deeming regulation on cigars, pipe tobacco and e-cigs).

FDA's Mitch Zeller was invited to testify at the hearing (and I was disappointed he didn't because I have lots of questions for House E&C Cmte members to ask him about FDA policies and actions). But Mitch declined to testify because he was in San Diego at a conference touting how the FDA bases all of its regulatory policies on science and is leading the charge in protecting Americans from tobacco.
http://cancerdiscovery.aacrjournals.org/content/4/1/10.full?


zoiDman inquired

Isn't someone like Rep. Shimkus the type of person that we would want to Contact and tell him how Beneficial e-Cigarettes have been for us to Quit Smoking?

Yes, yes, yes. It's really important to contact Republican members of Congress, especially Republicans on the House E&C Cmte (and the Senate HELP Cmte). All Congressional Democrats should also be contacted, but very few of them will criticize or challenge Obama's FDA, Rep. Waxman or Sens Durbin, Harkin, Blumenthal due to political party allegiance.

Please see

Action Alert: Urge Congress to prevent FDA from banning e-cigarettes again and to stop FDA from giving the e-cig industry to Big tobacco
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...op-fda-giving-e-cig-industry-big-tobacco.html