Labour Pains - Last push for #LordsVapeVote
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crustyfolker
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emailed and tweeted to all and especially Jeremy Corbyn. Fingers crossed now .
POWER TO THE VAPERS.
POWER TO THE VAPERS.
scrumpox
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Ha ha ha ... it wasn't long ago when I'd email someone at work ... she would print it out, write her reply on it and put it in the internal post, which was usually delivered the next day.
So I would scan her reply and attach it to my reply email ... you can imagine how it went on ...
So I would scan her reply and attach it to my reply email ... you can imagine how it went on ...
Diche
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Reply received from Heidi Alexander and my response.
Dear Ms Cottrill
Thank you for contacting me regarding Lord Callanan's motion in the House of Lords to annul the regulations which transpose the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) into UK law.
Firstly, I share your views about the benefits of vaping over smoking and I believe that recent research shows that some of the initial concerns about e-cigarettes were overstated. Vaping can be a safe and effective way to give up smoking and I believe the Government should be doing more to promote e-cigarettes as a potentially useful aid to help people quit smoking.
However if Lord Callanan's motion to annul the TPD regulations was to pass this would mean that all the positive changes brought in by these regulations to help smokers quit and make smoking less attractive to younger people, would be also removed. These changes include, but are not limited to, larger health warnings on all cigarette packs, picture warnings on the front of all packs and information on all packs about where to get help quitting. These are incredibly important changes and whilst we believe the Government does need to do more to address concerns of vapers, Labour is not able to support annulling these regulations given their wider benefits.
The Labour Party has tabled its own "regret motion", a copy of which can be viewed below, and this sets out some of our concerns with the regulations. These concerns include the failure of the Government to establish a monitoring mechanism to measure whether the directive will have a negative impact on the number of smokers using electronic cigarettes, and the failure of the Government to launch a public awareness campaign re-assuring smokers that vaping is much less harmful than smoking.
I note concerns have been raised about the ban on nicotine content above 20mg/ml that is contained in the regulations. Whilst it is true that stronger products will in future need to be licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, for many people this will make little difference as the most popular liquids tend to be those products with concentrations of nicotine lower than 20mg/ml.
I am also aware of concerns that the regulations place limits on ‘container’ size and ‘tank capacity’. Whilst I understand these concerns, it is important to note that the prohibition of container size to 10ml only comes into force on 20 May 2017, which allows ample time for manufacturers to make the better quality e-liquids available within the legal size limit.
Overall, I believe these regulations as a whole will help reduce the uptake of smoking amongst young people, and help ensure the safety and quality of e-cigarettes.
Thank you once again for getting in touch on this important issue.
Best wishes
Heidi Alexander MP
†Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to move that, in the light of the concerns about the impact of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 on the use of electronic cigarettes, this House regrets that there is not a monitoring mechanism in place to measure whether the Regulations will have a negative impact on the number of smokers using electronic cigarettes to give up smoking; that the Regulations are not to be accompanied by a public information campaign to reassure smokers that electronic cigarettes are less harmful than normal smoking; that smoking cessation services are being cut back at the same time as the Regulations are being introduced; and that the Regulations are due for implementation before the Government has published their tobacco strategy (SI 2015/507).
Dear Heidi Alexander,
Thank you for your form letter I have enjoyed reading all four copies of it that I have seen so far.
The idea that the smoking sections of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 would be lost is at best disingenuous. It is well within the ability of government to split the bill into it's constituent parts and pass the tobacco sections in full and allow the vaping section (Parts 6 and 7) to be framed as separate legislation, as frankly should have been done in the first place.
If you would like an example of how this can be done I suggest you speak to your colleagues in the Welsh Assembly who have clearly found it in possible with regards to the Welsh Health Bill.
If you read my original letter I specifically commented on the people most affected by the limit of 20mg. Those affected will be the new switchers. The legislation is framed in such a way as to make it harder for smokers to quit.
I am also opposed to the idea that the government should be spending taxpayers money on public information films to offset the fact that they are banning advertising on a product that has widespread benefits for the health of the people of the UK. It is frankly ludicrous to waste money on such a thing when appropriate legislation would enable the advertising to continue at zero cost to the tax payer.
I am sincerely grateful for your regret in approving of a bill that will be detrimental to the health of the UK, but I would be even more grateful if you put your regrets to one side and actually DID SOMETHING about it.
Regards,
Abigail Cottrill
Dear Ms Cottrill
Thank you for contacting me regarding Lord Callanan's motion in the House of Lords to annul the regulations which transpose the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) into UK law.
Firstly, I share your views about the benefits of vaping over smoking and I believe that recent research shows that some of the initial concerns about e-cigarettes were overstated. Vaping can be a safe and effective way to give up smoking and I believe the Government should be doing more to promote e-cigarettes as a potentially useful aid to help people quit smoking.
However if Lord Callanan's motion to annul the TPD regulations was to pass this would mean that all the positive changes brought in by these regulations to help smokers quit and make smoking less attractive to younger people, would be also removed. These changes include, but are not limited to, larger health warnings on all cigarette packs, picture warnings on the front of all packs and information on all packs about where to get help quitting. These are incredibly important changes and whilst we believe the Government does need to do more to address concerns of vapers, Labour is not able to support annulling these regulations given their wider benefits.
The Labour Party has tabled its own "regret motion", a copy of which can be viewed below, and this sets out some of our concerns with the regulations. These concerns include the failure of the Government to establish a monitoring mechanism to measure whether the directive will have a negative impact on the number of smokers using electronic cigarettes, and the failure of the Government to launch a public awareness campaign re-assuring smokers that vaping is much less harmful than smoking.
I note concerns have been raised about the ban on nicotine content above 20mg/ml that is contained in the regulations. Whilst it is true that stronger products will in future need to be licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, for many people this will make little difference as the most popular liquids tend to be those products with concentrations of nicotine lower than 20mg/ml.
I am also aware of concerns that the regulations place limits on ‘container’ size and ‘tank capacity’. Whilst I understand these concerns, it is important to note that the prohibition of container size to 10ml only comes into force on 20 May 2017, which allows ample time for manufacturers to make the better quality e-liquids available within the legal size limit.
Overall, I believe these regulations as a whole will help reduce the uptake of smoking amongst young people, and help ensure the safety and quality of e-cigarettes.
Thank you once again for getting in touch on this important issue.
Best wishes
Heidi Alexander MP
†Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to move that, in the light of the concerns about the impact of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 on the use of electronic cigarettes, this House regrets that there is not a monitoring mechanism in place to measure whether the Regulations will have a negative impact on the number of smokers using electronic cigarettes to give up smoking; that the Regulations are not to be accompanied by a public information campaign to reassure smokers that electronic cigarettes are less harmful than normal smoking; that smoking cessation services are being cut back at the same time as the Regulations are being introduced; and that the Regulations are due for implementation before the Government has published their tobacco strategy (SI 2015/507).
Dear Heidi Alexander,
Thank you for your form letter I have enjoyed reading all four copies of it that I have seen so far.
The idea that the smoking sections of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 would be lost is at best disingenuous. It is well within the ability of government to split the bill into it's constituent parts and pass the tobacco sections in full and allow the vaping section (Parts 6 and 7) to be framed as separate legislation, as frankly should have been done in the first place.
If you would like an example of how this can be done I suggest you speak to your colleagues in the Welsh Assembly who have clearly found it in possible with regards to the Welsh Health Bill.
If you read my original letter I specifically commented on the people most affected by the limit of 20mg. Those affected will be the new switchers. The legislation is framed in such a way as to make it harder for smokers to quit.
I am also opposed to the idea that the government should be spending taxpayers money on public information films to offset the fact that they are banning advertising on a product that has widespread benefits for the health of the people of the UK. It is frankly ludicrous to waste money on such a thing when appropriate legislation would enable the advertising to continue at zero cost to the tax payer.
I am sincerely grateful for your regret in approving of a bill that will be detrimental to the health of the UK, but I would be even more grateful if you put your regrets to one side and actually DID SOMETHING about it.
Regards,
Abigail Cottrill
Diche
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@SirLugg if you need a hand framing that reply, mine is posted ^^
Here is John Summers https://glosvaper.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/reply-from-heidi-alexander-to.html
Here is John Summers https://glosvaper.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/reply-from-heidi-alexander-to.html
Major Hazzard
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Just got the same reply from Heidi myself.
Diche
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