Stossel On The FDA

[CtryBoy]

Guess I've lost my internet mojo, since I havent found a good way to get Stossel's attention, but as the court proceedings draw closer, we might want to see if we can get Stossel to use our fight to go after the FDA again and hold their feet to the fire.



Whole story is good, but this part seems to sum up our fight against the safety first nonsense put out by the FDA.

 

[Luisa]

Guess I've lost my internet mojo, since I havent found a good way to get Stossel's attention, but as the court proceedings draw closer, we might want to see if we can get Stossel to use our fight to go after the FDA again and hold their feet to the fire.



Whole story is good, but this part seems to sum up our fight against the safety first nonsense put out by the FDA.

I do not know when this aired. If this man is speaking of the current administration being more open to his cause and working with him,we need to find out his secret!

 

[ImYourSalt]

nice post.

i for one have a doctors recommendation for a medication that the FDA has yet to approve. fortunately the state of CA (as well as many others) have enacted certain laws that allow me the use of the medication free from prosecution, on a state level. though, i am still in danger of facing prosecution on a federal level...

the government already has too much power, and are taking more every day.

...the land of the free, and the home of the brave
if not, then whats the point?

 

[r3dgh0s7]

that reminds me, hope all you Cali people vote yes on prop 19

 

[CtryBoy]

Thanks ImYourSalt although since I'm on a salt restricted diet (or suppossed to be ) I'll have to keep some distance to resist the urge.

as for r3dgh0s7 ?? sorry dont keep up with CA politics other than waiting for the smoke signals to turn into actual fire.

But back to the TOPIC looks like Stossel will have to be gone after through facebook, but considering the lack luster response to FDA vs Ecig discussion on the Judge's facebook, those campaigns are hard to get people behind.

Think our biggest problem is the holding pattern we currently are in. Waiting for Sept 23 to roll around just to have to go through mind numbing lawyer speak followed by nothing till next year??? Hard to get much sex appeal out of that for TV ratings. Hopefully the FDA will do something stupid enough to get us some press otherwise it'll just be a long wait and see.

 

[wardge76]

CtryBoy - Thanks for posting the video. I ended up watching all of the 7 parts that were available. Part 7 was particularly interesting... So, I wrote a letter to John Stossel and emailed it to him.

Dear Mr. Stossel:

I am writing to you out of concern for what I feel to be an infringement by the FDA on the personal rights and freedoms of american citizens. I recently saw your program about the FDA, regarding the dismal state of the drug approval process in this country and questioning “who” owns our bodies. That program prompted me to write you this letter.

I have been a smoker for nearly 20 years, and have discovered a wonderful alternative to smoking that has helped myself and many people around the globe reduce or completely put aside their tobacco cigarettes. The alternative I am referring to is called the electronic cigarette (also called e-cig or personal vaporizer). The electronic cigarette and the people that use them have come under attack by the FDA.

The FDA contends that the electronic cigarette is a drug delivery device, subject to their jurisdiction under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Many of us in the vaping community believe that the FDA involvement in the electronic cigarette industry is motivated by the financial interests of Big Tobacco and Big Pharmaceutical companies. These companies stand to lose profits to a fledgling industry that offers adult smokers a choice of switching to electronic cigarettes rather than continuing to inhale 4,000+ chemicals via cigarette smoke.

Currently FDA approved “smoking cessation” products, translate to “nicotine cessation”. (Quitting smoking doesn’t, and shouldn’t mean quitting nicotine). All FDA approved Nicotine replacement therapies assume people want to stop using nicotine, have dismal success rates over the long term, not to mention are prohibitively expensive (padding the pockets of big drug companies). Smokers try to quit, buy the ineffective and cessation aids, fail, return to smoking, feel bad smoking, buy the next cessation aid, fail again, return to cigarettes - money spent and profits generated to both the drug and tobacco companies. This rollercoaster is one that I have taken many rides on personally over many years, but no more - thanks entirely to my electronic cigarette.

Using the FDA logic that the e-cigarette is a drug-delivery device, I have to ask where it stops? How far can we allow them to reach before enough is enough? For example, the FDA doesn’t consider my coffee mug a drug delivery device, even though it delivers caffeine, which like nicotine is also a stimulant. For that matter Tomatoes, Potatoes and Green Peppers also contain Nicotine (obviously in much smaller amounts), should these also be classified as drug delivery devices?

There are many “vapers” (we call ourselves that because our electronic cigarettes do not produce smoke, they produce vapor), who have no more desire to stop using nicotine than we do switching to decaf coffee. We have found an option that very closely emulates the act of smoking without producing the second-hand smoke, tars and carcinogens that tobacco cigarettes produce. The FDA says that electronic cigarettes “might” be hazardous… Compared to what? A tobacco cigarette? We know that smoking tobacco kills over 400,000 people in this country every year, but we also know that in the time electronic cigarettes have been on the market, there hasn’t been a single report of anyone dying from using or being injured by the electronic cigarette.

When these “warnings” failed to slow the growth of the electronic cigarette industry, other organizations like the American Cancer Association and the American Medical Association jumped on board to help demonize these products, even going so far as to claim that e-cigarette companies are targeting children, without the slightest bit of proof to that assertion. Supposedly because they are electronic gadgets and come in different flavors, kids will flock out in droves to buy them and become spontaneous nicotine addicts. The argument is weak at best. I would be more worried about the parents if they allowed their children unmonitored access to the internet and their credit cards (e-cigs are definitely not cheap).

In the past week, the FDA has issued warning letters to five different e-cigarette companies for a number of violations. Some of these violations make sense (selling weight loss products or erectile dysfunction medications in e-cigarettes is downright irresponsible, and making health claims isn't very wise either), and I don’t personally know any vapers that would order from companies like these. I do agree that there should be quality control standards in place for e-cigarette companies, and e-liquid manufacturers. Many of us (myself included) do also feel that standards of packaging and ingredient labeling should be in place for these products, and e-cigarettes should obviously only be sold to adults 18 and older. The FDA paving the way for massive shutdowns of small businesses is not only terrible for an already struggling economy, but also has the potential to force many of us back to smoking, effectively sentencing us to either “quit or die”.

As a citizen of a “free” country, shouldn’t I have more options than that?

I invite you to visit the following website to learn more about electronic cigarettes and the many peoples' lives that have been changed by them. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com

Another excellent resource is the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association (CASAA) CASAA | The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association. The CASAA website offers a plethora of actual research data links and facts on the electronic cigarette. I am sure they would also welcome the chance to speak with you personally.

I have provided a couple of PDF attachments from the CASAA website as well.

Thank you for your time.

Best Regards,

I attached the Medical Infograph, the tri-fold brochure, and the position statement. I don't know if it will gain any attention, but I feel better having sent it.

 

[D103]

THANK YOU wardge76 for your efforts and your passion. I liked your letter and I too think Stossel would be a good person to do a challenging and "fair" story on this. Keep us posted as to what you hear back.

 

[wardge76]

I absolutely will! Fingers crossed that I get a response!

 

[Kate51]

Excellent Thread, posters all!!
Had shivers watching those videos (I went to YouTube and saw a bunch more!) I love Stossel, he is more Libertarian than I am, I think, but has a way about him that makes one want to listen. And learn. Your letter wardge76 is wonderful. And a great idea. I am of the opinion that FDA missed one of the best cancer fighter possibilities ever, way back when. By the time the public got ahold of it, it was no longer viable for BigPharma. Too bad. We won't mention the name here. I'm surprised Aspirin made it through the wringer.

 

[CtryBoy]

I absolutely will! Fingers crossed that I get a response!

Everyone on ECF has their fingers crossed as well. Just wish there was some evidence from the last 20 yrs that the FDA ever ate crow and backed off. They usually just find a way to do what they want anyway as evidenced by the letters sent to the 5 companies. An invitation to cooperate in my own execution doesnt really sound like a party I'd like to go to, but that's just me.

 

[uzzaperez]

that reminds me, hope all you Cali people vote yes on prop 19

does the word ......... get edited out of posts?

 

[uzzaperez]

Yes, yes it does. Makes it hard to discuss prop 19 then doesn't it?

 

[HighHeeledGoddess]

I LOVE John Stossel. I grew up watching him on 20/20; probably a large part of why I have the political beliefs I do today.

 

[wardge76]

No response as of today, just thought I would update everyone...

 

[Vocalek]

Great letter, Ward. Thanks for the plug for CASAA.

 

[Stephaniems]

The FDA doesn't even do the work they are suppose to do, I'm so ready for real change in american lives, ya know the kinda changes that put our own destinies back into our hands and not the hands of some faceless slub behind a desk. I'm sure everyone has someone in their family thats been touched by some of the problems on the show, cronic pain to cancers, its just sad and maddening to watch a loved one go threw terrible pain and you are helpless to do anything about it.

 

[thephoenix]

i'm counting down the days to vote yes on prop 19 - and i don't even smoke!

makes me crazy paranoid. haha.

 

[BARENETTED]

Ward,

I have been away for a while and am just now reading this thread. Great job!!!!

If you haven't heard yet, it doesn't mean that you won't.

They just do so many shows in a given time period.

So, don't give up yet - I'm not.