Petition the administration to recognize e-cigarettes

[ScottB]

I'll bet they are sorry already they started this PR stunt...

The White House has responded to two petitions asking the U.S. government to acknowledge formally that aliens have visited Earth and to disclose any intentional withholding of government interactions with extraterrestrial beings...<snip>

...These petitions were sparked by an Obama administration initiative called "We the People." Initially, the White House said staffers would respond and consider taking action on any issue that received at least 5,000 online signatures within 30 days. The requirement has since been raised to 25,000 signatures...<snip>

...The Paradigm Research Group, one of the organizations promoting the petitions, said that the response by a "low-level staffer" was unacceptable and that it would begin a new petition campaign.

White House: No E.T. visits, no UFO cover-up - Technology & science - Space - msnbc.com

Yep... I'll bet they're sorry too...

 

[tybin]

just checked it total now is 5,552 sigs

 

[CES]

so, while i was signing the e-cig petition i signed a couple of others. It turns out that when they write the response, respond they send it to you in an email
(the response i got, to a petition about the postal service, included research and numbers, so that's hopeful)

 

[ScottB]

I'll bet they are sorry already they started this PR stunt...

If they weren't already sorry - this may help foster some 'regret'...

We demand a vapid, condescending, meaningless, politically safe response to this petition. (link)

Since these petitions are ignored apart from an occasional patronizing and inane political statement amounting to nothing more than a condescending pat on the head, we the signers would enjoy having the illusion of success. Since no other outcome to this process seems possible, we demand that the White House immediately assign a junior staffer to compose a tame and vapid response to this petition, and never attempt to take any meaningful action on this or any other issue. We would also like a cookie.

It did make me chuckle - and has 11,280 signatures -

 

[Vocalek]

Chuckle?! It made me laugh out loud!

 

[ScottB]

I thought about signing it... just for the cookie.

 

[DC2]

If I'll get a cookie, I'll sign it for sure.

 

[DC2]

I signed it anyway, even if I don't get a cookie... but I still want that cookie.

I like cookies.

 

[Tendril]

I signed it anyway, even if I don't get a cookie... but I still want that cookie.

I like cookies.

Don't worry, the whitehouse.gov leaves a handful in your browser

 

[rothenbj]

This kind of got lost in the conversations and I checked it just a couple days ago and thought they'd never get enough signatures since over 6k were needed. I looked today and bam-

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitio...hem-excuse-pretend-you-are-listening/grQ9mNkN

 

[Tendril]

That website is so unstable that I'm pulling my hairs out. If you don't allow cookies and javascript for its private industry affiliates the content of We the People won't load, and even then it's unreliable in IE9 and FF 8

 

[rothenbj]

That website is so unstable that I'm pulling my hairs out. If you don't allow cookies and javascript for its private industry affiliates the content of We the People won't load, and even then it's unreliable in IE9 and FF 8

Kind of reminds you of our government, doesn't it.

 

[CJsKee]

Can't wait to see their response!

 

[CaramelCathy]

Signed Today!

 

[mostlyclassics]

Can't wait to see their response!

Well, here it is, from an email I just received (underline mine):

Protecting Public Health Through Safe and Effective Treatments
By Dr. Lawrence R. Deyton, M.S.P.H, M.D., Director of the Center for tobacco Products at the FDA.

Thank you for signing the petition "Recognize electronic cigarettes as an effective alternative to smoking and support job creation in this new industry."

E-cigarettes may contain ingredients that are known to be toxic to humans or otherwise harm public health -- for example, if they are attractive to young people and lead kids to try other tobacco products, including conventional cigarettes, which are known to cause disease and lead to premature death. Because clinical studies of these products have not been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), consumers currently have no way of knowing what types or concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals are found in these products, or how much nicotine people inhale when they use these products.

FDA is taking steps, as authorized by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, to include electronic cigarettes under the agency's regulatory authority.

However, in light of the lack of validated scientific data, including a lack of reliable indicators of nicotine and harmful chemical content, FDA cannot at this time conclude that electronic cigarettes are an effective alternative to smoking.

Make no mistake, the Obama Administration shares your concern about the public health risks associated with cigarette smoking and is committed to helping Americans quit. Cigarette smoking poses a serious public health risk to our Nation, accounting for about one-third of all cancers, including 90 percent of lung cancer cases. On average, adults who smoke die 14 years earlier than nonsmokers. Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent. A 35-year-old man who quits smoking will, on average, increase his life expectancy by 5 years.

As someone who is clearly engaged on this issue, we also want to make sure you know about the Great American Smokeout, the American Cancer Society's nationwide campaign to encourage smokers to make a plan to quit.

Time to stock up.

 

[LadyLynx]

I just got the same one. So much for listening to the people.

 

[mostlyclassics]

A waste of perfectly good electrons to sign that petition.

 

[EmmaJo]

"Because clinical studies of these products have not been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), consumers currently have no way of knowing what types or concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals are found in these products, or how much nicotine people inhale when they use these products."

Why are these studies not being done?

"However, in light of the lack of validated scientific data, including a lack of reliable indicators of nicotine and harmful chemical content, FDA cannot at this time conclude that electronic cigarettes are an effective alternative to smoking."

FDA cannot prove NOR disprove that it is an effective alternative because of lack of data. Sounds like some of here at ECF should be their guinea pigs. Heck, I'd sign up. Never in my 30+ years of smoking cigarettes have I EVER made it a whole week without smoking but with these I have. They need to gather some validated scientific data before they can make ANY type of conclusions.

 

[mostlyclassics]

EmmaJo, in a reasonable world, you'd be right.

But our supposed land of the free has morphed into a Nanny State, infested to the bursting point with control freaks and wannabe mommies to the beknighted citizenry which they know, by virtue of their superior knowledge, is too stupid to know that they shouldn't eat yellow snow.

Why are these studies not being done?

Because, to satisfy the FDA's procedures, such studies would take decades and consume hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions. Those wouldn't be tax dollars. They'd have to come from the makers of vaping hardware and software.

 

[rothenbj]

EmmaJo, that response is a rhetorical smokescreen. We the people is a bad political joke brought to you by a very disappointing administration. What promised change has given us much more of the same old, same old with more attempts to completely socialize this country. I don't like the idea of having someone else decide what's best for me and that seems to be the recurring theme.