Letter to my congressman

[therealmuffinman]

I wrote a letter to my congressman today. Would be interested in comments and suggestions. I decided I am an active member of the vaping community and it would be selfish of me to not get involved and give back to the community that has given me so much. The thing is I am no professional writer so any comments and suggestions to help me improve for next time.

*note* I had done some research and found out my congressman was openly gay and a strong progressive and human rights advocate, which is why I had the LGBT tie-in if anybody was wondering.

Mr Bonin,

I know you are a busy man so I will not take too much time.


I am writing to request you oppose the proposed ordinance which would ban smoke-free e-cigarette use wherever smoking is prohibited. I was a 2 pack a day smoker and vaping (using an e-cigarette) helped me quit. Apart from being non harmful as proven by many independent studies, e-cigarettes are also much less offensive.


I actually believe that e-cigarettes should be promoted as a healthier alternative to traditional tobacco. If more people start vaping instead of smoking cigarettes, apart from the improved health of your good constituents, there would be less litter, improved air quality, and potential for more revenue through storefronts that, if the ban passes, would probably not even open.


The ban on electronic cigarettes, to me, resembles the opposition to the LGBT community. There is no public health or safety issue that this ban is being based upon and it does not affect anybody but the person vaping his/herself. It is a ordinance proposed solely by the notion that "it looks like smoking," which seems like quite a narrow minded view. If we were to pass ordinances based solely upon "the sight of this might offend somebody" more counter progressive ordinances like proposition 8, which have no objective basis, would continue to pass.


Please support myself and the many others who have quit smoking and now lead a healthier lifestyle due to vaping, and putting a stop to these counter progressive proposals by opposing the proposed e-cigarette ban.


Best Regards,
Nicholas L

I put my full last name in the email.

 

[element9633]

Looks and sounds very professional! not coming here to critique (<-- is that how you spell it? lol) your letter but I just wanted to say my mom, who is a dental hygienist, hates that I vape. I finally got her to admit that she doesn't like me doing it around her bc it "looks like smoking". lol I hate these viewpoints. I almost feel like she would rather have me smoking than vaping lol

 

[cmknight]

I think it's actually a great letter. Putting the LGBT reference in there does make it more personal, and your congressman should see the similarities between the fight for LGBT rights and vaping rights.