FDA Seattle and King County, WA submit false and misleading comment supporting FDA deeming

[DrMA]

PHSKC submitted a comment strongly endorsing the FDA proposal. I urge Seattle vapers to make use of the contact info provided in the comment and let their regional "health authority" know about the positive impact vaping has had on their lives. If you have limited time available, you could send PHSKC your CASAA CTA4 comment with slight modification with only a few minutes of time invested.

Regulations.gov

You might also want to mention the recent critique of similar claims made by WHO.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-e-cigarette-criticisms-exposed-alarmist.html

 

[DrMA]

No Seattle/King County vapers on ECF? Where does ecigexpress get all that business?

 

[xpl0it]

3. Deem all e-cigarette-like devices and components including those that do not contain nicotine.

We urge the FDA to deem all e-cigarette-like devices of any tobacco product to be a component or part of a tobacco product subject to the statutory requirements and restrictions in the Tobacco Control Act. The FDA should also extend all of the regulatory provisions of the final rule resulting from this proposal to all deemed products, components and parts regardless of whether or not they contain nicotine.

What on God's green earth does a non-nicotine containing product have anything to do with tobacco. I can understand on some weird twisted level that nicotine derived from tobacco may draw some concern or correlation...but non-nicotine containing?!

You'd think with Washington state being as progressive as they are with raising the minimum wage to $15/hr and finally legalizing a substance they have ...... and moaned about for decades might possibly leave a few brain cells left over to not write such a BS comment.

 

[NorthOfAtlanta]

If it was just Washington doing it I'd say they may be using to much of the newly legalized substance, but it isn't. Makes you wonder if they all aren't partaking in some 50 state illegal substance?

 

[DrMA]

Those Washingtonians "partaking" aren't generally interested in banning anything.

This atrocity in the OP is the brainchild of glANTZ, adopted by NACCHO, and executed by the individual "health" departments, as discussed in the other thread: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=598196

 

[DrMA]

Don't forget that King County was probably the very first jurisdiction in the world to rule ecigs as tobacco products and prohibit their use in public.

That's why, in my writing to the perpetrators of this atrocity, I added this paragraph:

Also in light of current evidence and in the interest of public health, the King County Board of Health should rescind the provisions of BOHC Title 19.12 (2010) defining the much safer and tobacco-free e-cigarettes as tobacco products, as well as the restrictions imposed in public places and places of employment.

 

[DrMA]

I'm hoping that at least 10% of the 336 people who viewed this thread (as of 10 Sep) wrote to these guys urging them to reconsider their position on ecigs. If you're still looking for who to contact, here's a list of candidates:

David Fleming, MD david.fleming@kingcounty.gov
Signed the comment to FDA

Rhonda Berry rhonda.berry@kingcounty.gov
His Boss

Fred Jarrett fred.jarrett@kingcounty.gov
Another level up

Patty Hayes patty.hayes@kingcounty.gov
Interim Director of Public Health

More available from here: Online Directory

 

[DrMA]

It's been almost 10 days since I wrote to these bozos and still no reply...

 

[DrMA]

Got a 2-line reply from Dr. Fleming thanking me for the interest in the topic and stating that they're waiting for an FDA decision before reevaluating their position.

 

[pamdis]

Got a 2-line reply from Dr. Fleming thanking me for the interest in the topic and stating that they're waiting for an FDA decision before reevaluating their position.

Because he can't think for himself? And politely implying that you shouldn't be either.

 

[DrMA]

Oh, he now knows how well I've thought of it, and also how poorly I think of him.

 

[DrMA]

Since Dr. Fleming was kind enough to get back to me, I took the opportunity to continue the dialogue and wrote back with some more evidence and debunking of FUD. Among other things I made the point that it is a matter of some urgency that their position be revised to reflect the evidence in the scientific literature and prevent unnecessary health risks to current smokers and vapers in King County. Here's an excerpt of the bottom line:

Like the UK Department of Health [4], PHSKC now has an opportunity to dismiss alarmist propaganda and conflicted junk science and fulfill its mandate and moral obligation to protect public health. Actively seeking and critically reviewing all the available evidence supports a single unequivocal conclusion: continued improvement and innovation of electronic cigarettes is in the interest of public health, not snubbing them by deeming as tobacco products. PHSKC can become a leader in public health by encouraging e-cigarettes as a much less risky alternative to smoking through measures such as rescinding BOHC Title 19.12 (2010) and replacing it with accurate communications about the weight of evidence:

• e-cigarettes are not tobacco products, nor smoking cessation devices
• e-cigarettes have a low risk profile to users, and de minimis risk to by-standers
• nicotine, when divorced from smoking tobacco, has a low risk profile and low potential for addiction

 

[2buildawall]

WA is such a nanny state. To many laws to protect people from themselves. To much money spent on bridges to nowhere (if you would like I can back this statement up). I figure they would either want to tax or ban vapors asap. I am surprised it has gone this long without some political DS not jumping on this cash cow.

RANT PAUSED!

 

[DrMA]

WA is such a nanny state. To many laws to protect people from themselves. To much money spent on bridges to nowhere (if you would like I can back this statement up). I figure they would either want to tax or ban vapors asap. I am surprised it has gone this long without some political DS not jumping on this cash cow.

RANT PAUSED!

Whaddayamean? They tried and failed thanks to valiant efforts of the vaping community:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-cigs-95-referred-senate-ways-means-cmte.html
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-help-stop-washington-senate-bill-6569-a.html

Also on the local level:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...roposed-include-e-cigarettes-smoking-ban.html

Chances are they'll keep trying to restrict and tax ecig use and we must remain vigilant and thwart their misguided efforts.