Important update from ECITA: Legal advice re prospective bans

[freakindahouse]

Hi, all,

We met with the legal team today to discuss our options in the face of the EU proposal, and the imminent MHRA position statement. (We anticipate that the MHRA will announce on the 13th March, rather than waiting until May, because they like to roll the drum on No Smoking Day.)

We discussed all the issues for both UK and EU level. The legal experts reckon we have a strong case, particularly with regard to proportionality, and we shall be getting an official Opinion from a QC in the next couple of weeks. They described the proposed Directive as possibly being 'legally flawed' in several respects, which means we have a good chance of mounting a successful legal challenge.

We shall continue to fire on all cylinders, and will be asking for your help in getting the right messages to the right people in each of your constituencies in the coming weeks. I hope we can count on your support as we all join together for this crucial fight.

This is not an industry fighting for its survival in isolation; this is a fight for every single one of us who has discovered vaping - and it is a fight for our lives. We hope you will join us as we take the fight to them, rather than waiting for them to attack us even further.

Sincere thanks to Elites, not only for providing outstanding Chairmanship of ECITA since its inception in the form of Mike Ryan, but also for providing access to a top notch legal team, with the expertise and skills to bring us ALL safely home - as an industry and as a community of vapers.

We shall keep you informed as things progress, and would be grateful if a moderator could sticky this thread.

Happy and very long-lived vaping, one and all!

Cheers,

Katherine

 

[freakindahouse]

Hi, all,

Firstly, I'd like to apologise to the Mods here for my shameless spamming of this information. It's vitally important that all the UK and EU vapers are aware of this information, but if it is deemed inappropriate then by all means take whatever action you need to. I hope, however, that you will want to help as we move towards the end game. Secondly, if there is a way for you to reduce the number of posts while keeping this information easily accessible to all those who need it (assuming you would want to, which I am relatively confident about!) then please do tidy up. I am sorry, but it is not clear to me where this would need to go, so I'm trying to put it everywhere!

OK, as promised the handout is up and ready for download. I know it's a bit cheeky, but if everyone here printed it out and hand delivered it to each of their MPs and MEPs, maybe, just maybe we can make a difference? Obviously, if you don't agree with anything it says, then don't, but if you DO agree, and want to protect YOUR right to vape, then please get this out there! http://ecita.org.uk/a4 2 sided handout feb 2013.pdf

Also, if you supply into local shops in your area, or know the people in there, maybe you could encourage those outlets to display the information with the products? Anything we can do to get the message out there can only help.

Thank you all for your support!

Cheers,

Katherine

(MODS: I don't know if you can sticky this, or find some other clever way of ensuring every member sees it, but I'd be grateful for anything you can do in this regard. Thank you.)