Sent a heavily modified variant to my MP and MEPs...
Dear x,
I am a 'vaper'. For the uninitiated, that is a person who uses an electronic cigarette (e-cig). I successfully gave up smoking for several years, but due to many personal circumstances last year I started to crave cigarettes again.
To 'head this off at the pass', I purchased an e-cig with the intention of using it as an alternative to smoking tobacco. I quickly discovered that 'vaping' is a choice that many people in the UK and all over the world have taken to avoid the dangers caused by smoking.
I'm sure you are aware that nicotine on its own is, although addictive, a relaxant on a par in toxicity with caffeine, and that the dangers posed by smoking are actually caused by the delivery system - the burning of tobacco - which produces incredibly toxic smoke and tar.
On 12.6.13 the MHRA announced that it will regulate what it terms as 'nicotine containing products' (NCPs) as medicines and this is, of course, aimed at e-cigs. All manufacturers and vendors of such products will have to be licensed. It is thought that licensing will take at least a year and will cost tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds per item.
E-cigs work for smokers because they are varied, interesting and innovative. I enjoy the hobby aspect of vaping and there are numerous online communities for us 'vapers' to discuss the latest gadgets, and different juice flavours. I should also add that since I started vaping last year, I have had absolutely no desire to smoke a cigarette, as the e-cig effectively mimics what I enjoyed about smoking, with the bonus of being much less dangerous. At his request, I also purchased one for my father, a lifelong smoker of 30-a-day, and am pleased to say that he has been able to give up cigarettes for the first time. This is purely because the mechanism of vaping, and the vapour itself, replace smoking so effectively. Vaping negates several of the problems traditionally associated with giving up smoking - the habitual hand to mouth movement and 'event' triggers (having a coffee or pint, etc.), and also negates nicotine cravings. Several of my friends who are smokers have also taken up e-cigs since seeing me using one.
The intention to regulate these products as medicine is completely draconian. E-cigs are not marketed as a 'cure', but as an effective substitute, and as a recreational device. The costs and timescales involved in licensing will put most of the traders currently in the market out of business, and the drive to produce new and interesting products will stagnate under the weight of the red tape involved in getting them to the market.
I fully agree that the advertising and sale of e-cigs should follow the benchmark set at a similar level to those for cigarettes. However, since the only 'nicotine delivery device' that is a proven killer, namely the cigarette, is the only one NOT to be regulated under these proposed guidelines, I can only assume that the decisions the MHRA are making are not based on the health of UK citizens. I have recently found out that the MHRA have based their proposals on data supplied by BAT (British American Tobacco).
The mechanical aspects of e-cigs are already subject to EU manufacturing guidelines, and online e-juice manufacturers are all part of a voluntary regulatory system that monitors ingredients.
E-cigs have the potential to save millions of lives and reduce the burden on the NHS. It is a product which should be encouraged and a market which should be understood and supported, not over-regulated.
Yours sincerely,
