Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)

[dput]

I had written Sen. Burr last month about my concern about the FDA trying to ban e-cigarettes. As an e-cig supplier this is of great concern to me. His office called me today and said that he supports e-cigarettes and thinks that they are a very good smoking cessation product and is against the FDA trying to regulate/ban them. He is actually working to make sure e-cigarettes continue to be available to the public and would be interested any input I may have towards their use and safety. I am also a healthcare provider currently doing research on these things so he is intersted in my input. I have not called his office back yet but plan to do so.

 

[Rosco]

That is quite marvelous to say the least. So, maybe there is a pearl in amongst the swine?

 

[dput]

A quick followup. I called Sen. Burr's office and gave them some more info on e-cigs. I explained that our medical practice has created a program that uses e-cigs to get people to stop smoking and then deal with the nicotine addiction once they are off analogs. We closely monitor these patients and perform various breathing tests along the way to show airway improvement. Anyway, I told Sen. Burr's office that we would like to work with him in any way possible to get the FDA to realize the true potential benefits of e-cigs. I also mentioned that the FDA was still seizing e-cigs coming into the country and that this seemed to go against the recent court ruling. The guy I was speaking with, Eric, was aware of the ruling, but did not know that packages were still being seized. He said he would pass this along to Sen. Burr as well. He told me he would call me back.

Just so you know, Sen. Burr sits on the U.S. Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and pensions. He seems to be a true ally in this fight.

 

[Mudflap]

Good work dput! The FDA won't be swayed to change their stance. Our best hope (as I see it) is for Congress to get involved and start yanking their funding.

I'm not at all optimistic. I have written my Senators & Congressman and have recieved form letter responses and a call from a clueless intern.

 

[redheadone]

Good for him. I hope he stands behind his convictions. As a resident of North Carolina I would hate to see a ban on e-cigs in this state. As a thirty five year smoker and over two months anolog free I dont think I could have done it without the e-cig so hats off to Senator Burr. and I hope also he does look into the matter of the shipment seizure which the FDA has no right to do.

 

[scinsc]

I had written Sen. Burr last month about my concern about the FDA trying to ban e-cigarettes. As an e-cig supplier this is of great concern to me. His office called me today and said that he supports e-cigarettes and thinks that they are a very good smoking cessation product and is against the FDA trying to regulate/ban them. He is actually working to make sure e-cigarettes continue to be available to the public and would be interested any input I may have towards their use and safety. I am also a healthcare provider currently doing research on these things so he is intersted in my input. I have not called his office back yet but plan to do so.

Great job by you and Sen. Burr. If I could offer a suggestion, you might want to put Sen. Burr in touch with Dr. Michael Siegel who is with the community health sciences at Boston University School of Public Health.

 

[dput]

Great job by you and Sen. Burr. If I could offer a suggestion, you might want to put Sen. Burr in touch with Dr. Michael Siegel who is with the community health sciences at Boston University School of Public Health.

Thats a great idea, I'll do that. Thanks.

 

[StormFinch]

dput you might want to check out CASAA | The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association, especially their resources page. It is a clearing house for all the studies and information currently out on e-cigarettes.

 

[cookiebun]

That's fantastic. Thank you.

 

[pianoguy]

Outstanding - great work!

 

[NCVaper]

Awesome! I was actually thinking about seeing if I could contact him about e-cigs too.

 

[dput]

Awesome! I was actually thinking about seeing if I could contact him about e-cigs too.

I think this would be a good idea. In fact I think everybody in NC who believes in the power of e-cigs should contact him. The more he hears from us the more he will do to help. Even if you don't live in NC it might be good to contact him and just thank him for supporting e-cigs.

 

[NCVaper]

I think this would be a good idea. In fact I think everybody in NC who believes in the power of e-cigs should contact him. The more he hears from us the more he will do to help. Even if you don't live in NC it might be good to contact him and just thank him for supporting e-cigs.

Agreed, take for instance; if you told me Boge cartos were the best. Yeah It would make an impact, but if 100 people told me Boge cartos are the best It would make a huge impact! We have to remember that we have a right to choose who represents us... For too long they've made us think that they are in charge, but that is not the case!

I'm going to go work on that letter right now.

-Andrew

 

[dput]

I received another call from Sen. Burr's office today. The person I spoke with wanted to inform me that the FDA will try to regulate e-cigs as tobacco products, which I (and everybody else here) already knew. He then went on to say that we are going to be many years away before we get any acutal rulings. He said the problem for the FDA is what exactly are they going to regulate? Nicotine? The PV? Battery? Carto? If they try and regulate the nicotine it will have massive effects on cigarettes, pipes, cigars, nic patches, gum, etc. There is nothing "tobacco" about e-cigs and Richard Burr will be sure to point this out to them. Anyway, just wanted to give this update.

 

[NCVaper]

I received another call from Sen. Burr's office today. The person I spoke with wanted to inform me that the FDA will try to regulate e-cigs as tobacco products, which I (and everybody else here) already knew. He then went on to say that we are going to be many years away before we get any acutal rulings. He said the problem for the FDA is what exactly are they going to regulate? Nicotine? The PV? Battery? Carto? If they try and regulate the nicotine it will have massive effects on cigarettes, pipes, cigars, nic patches, gum, etc. There is nothing "tobacco" about e-cigs and Richard Burr will be sure to point this out to them. Anyway, just wanted to give this update.

Thanks for the update! It's cool to see that some of our elected "officals" are looking out for us on this.

I don't see how they can regulate batteries, or atty's in really any way. The e-liquid is a completely different thing... Hopefully it won't the smaller guys like me and you out of business. Regulation can be good, and bad, I'm just looking forward to what changes will have to be made within the industry.

-Andrew

 

[dput]

I'm with you Andrew. The only thing I can see them regulating is nicotine. But again that does open up a whole can of worms.