Letter back from Stephen lloyd - Eastbourne MP- few pointers please

[SouthernVaper]

Right well heres what he wrote, it came on nice house of commons headed paper lol

"thank you for your email regarding E-Cigarettes. Please accept my apologies for not responding sooner.

I understand your concerns over e-cigarettes. Funnily enough after meeting with a constituent on the subject I made the switch myself! So this debate is very close to my heart.

Therefore, I would like to reassure you that regulation is not about loss of revenue. Instead, from 2016 e-cigarettes will be classed as medicines, which will ensure that they are safe to use, and doctors will be able to prescribe them to smokers to help them cut down or quit. As it stands, e-cigarettes fall under general product safety legislation, which is meant that many tobacco companies have brought e-cigarettes companies and are advertising them in ways that are illegal were they conventional cigarettes. As the visual difference is nuanced, there is concern that smoking will be advertised again by the back door, and so in part the move to move to a more regulated market is to address this concern, to prevent manufacturers promoting cigarettes to children.

There are also concerns that there is no regulation over the nicotine content on e-cigarettes. At the moment there is no control of nicotine levels and content across brands differ wildly, which can be dangerous and limits their effectiveness if being used as a quitting agent.

All this is to say that while I am wholly supportive of e-cigarettes, this is a very nuanced issue. I am opposed to banning them, but I am supportive of moves to regulate the industry, which I believe will make it safer and hopefully more widespread so that more people will feel the health benefits. I will continue to monitor the issue closely.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions regarding this or any other matter

with best wishes,"

 

[SouthernVaper]

so today I have phoned the surgery to get a appointment. When I got to the what's it about the guy fell in that it was me again, the guy that was in the surgery a couple of weeks ago. He advised that because the MP is busy th best course of action is to either write a letter again or send a email. When I pointed out that the main problem here was that MPs be them euro or otherwise are basically making decisions based on biased info or no info at all.
He advised that it is basically lobbying that I am doing (havent a clue what that means lol) and advised that I should give my MP all the info that I know as it would appear that its a little one sided at present.

 

[SouthernVaper]

so my question is this can anyone give me links to the info rather than me trawling through (which ill happily do) I wonder also if it is worth me giveing him a link to this very forum where he can ask us if he so wishes

 

[dnglos]

I wonder also if it is worth me giveing him a link to this very forum where he can ask us if he so wishes

Might be worth a try. You could also invite him along to Vapefest

Seriously though, this thing about juice containing the wrong nic level is such a red herring and if he's a vaper he should know that. If I order a 30ml bottle of 18mg juice and it turns out to be 16mg or 20mg that's not a problem. If it turns out to be 74mg, well I'm not gonna carry on vaping the whole 30ml am I?

 

[Fleabag]

If I order a glass of house red in the pub, I don't know what the alcohol content of that specific glass is - but I know when I've had too much!

 

[KulrMeStoopid]

Some great info here http://www.eccauk.org/index.php/information.html all in PDF and printable!

 

[Fleabag]

I struggle to see how e-cig manufacturers advertising their products equates to promoting analogues to children - or how medicinal regulation is the only way to address it (they managed to control cigarette advertising without classifying it as a medicinal product).

I'm all for ensuring that children aren't encouraged to use them (not that they show any interest in emulating the geeky adults' behaviour), but all of this can be addressed without it being a medicine.

At other times we get told that regulation won't affect availability, and that medicines are available off the shelf - if so, surely that means they will still be visible to children.

This MP also seems to be suggesting that the regulation will be aiming to change our behaviour in using e-cigs, and the only way in which they will accept them is if we're using them as a means to wean ourselves off nicotine, not to continue using it recreationally.

 

[Fleabag]

One thing I raised in my reply to the labour MEP was that, with drug paraphernalia being sold legally in the UK and nicotine readily available without medicinal regulation, I fail to see how they can legislate the hardware or ejuice (after all, it's only the nicotine in the juice that could possibly be regulated - and this is available unregulated in every corner shop and supermarket).

Perhaps all food flavourings and glycerine will be licensed....

Are we really heading for a situation where medicinal licenses will be needed for every battery, fibreglass wick, tank and coil while you can pop to the market and freely pick up an unregulated bong?

 

[SouthernVaper]

I struggle to see how e-cig manufacturers advertising their products equates to promoting analogues to children - or how medicinal regulation is the only way to address it (they managed to control cigarette advertising without classifying it as a medicinal product).

Exactly my thoughts I agree that we dont want them to be sold to under 18s and tbh a small law change will sort that


This MP also seems to be suggesting that the regulation will be aiming to change our behaviour in using e-cigs, and the only way in which they will accept them is if we're using them as a means to wean ourselves off nicotine, not to continue using it recreationally.

That is a common misconception and one I believe needs to be addressed as for me I am not likely to quit entirely which leaves me at the moment with two options smoking or vaping. I certainly dont want to be forced back to smoking. The MRHA proposals and their reasons are littered with silly reasons but sadly they are ones that the general populace will except and get behind.

 

[KulrMeStoopid]

IF and when they are medicalised, these people kindly forget....ecigs will be available to children as young as 12 years old it makes me sick