MEP and MP Letters

[Szaxe]

I wish my member was beloved

 

[Szaxe]

 

[Bryan123456]

View attachment 3786

Brilliant!

 

[cdurkin100]

Another response.

[FONT=&quot]Thank you for your email regarding the Government’s revised European Tobacco Directive and in particular Nicotine Containing Products (NCP).[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Mr Griffin has asked me to reply to you on his behalf.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying to you. Mr Griffin's email account has been inundated with mail and it has taken some time to work through them.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Nicotine replacement therapies such as the use of Electronic cigarettes have proven to be an effective method for many smokers in their quest to ‘kick the habit’, however research into the use of electronic cigarettes before they hit the market was minimal and has not been subject to rigorous testing.[/FONT] [FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A recent consultation undertaken by [/FONT][FONT=&quot]the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which is supported by the British Medical Association, has highlighted the need for evidence on the levels of nicotine that have a significant pharmacological effect, and the need for further information on the impact of regulation on public health and business and are therefore conducting further scientific and market research with the aim of answering these important questions and a final decision on the regulation of NCP’s as medicinal products is to be made available later this year. [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT] [FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If, after the further research, nicotine containing products were to be regulated as medicinal, this approach could actually make such products more widely available, supported by clear information for users and appropriate advertising. If the evidence gathered supports a decision to licence nicotine products as medicines, NCPs would have a general sale legal status meaning they can be sold in general sale outlets such as supermarkets, therefore making them still readily available to the end user.[/FONT] [FONT=&quot][/FONT]
This guidance will support both a range of UK international agreements and the ‘EU Directive on tobacco products’.
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mr Griffin has a natural propensity, as you might expect, to vote against any attempts by Brussels to interfere in Britain's business. British standards, having been developed and refined over many years, are usually of the highest level therefore it is Mr Griffin's belief that these decisions should be made by the British Medical Association and other national centres of scientific expertise before being implemented via the British Government in Westminster.[/FONT] [FONT=&quot][/FONT]

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[Mark]

Problem is Mr Griffin has got it completely round his neck. Electronic cigarettes are not NRTs. Regulation as a medicinal product will not make them readily available in any useable form. Point. Missed.

 

[Doodlebug]

My god, these people need educating! "Nicotine replacement therapies such as the use of Electronic cigarettes"???? THESE ARE NOT MEDICINES!!!

I was at the BBC again this morning, for BBC Leeds this time, and when asked if I wanted to add anything after the pre-recorded interview, I specifically made this point, and asked the interviewer if we could try to get this point across. It won't necessarily fit with the breakfast piece they are running, but she did say she would try to include it with some news items, so we'll see. In any event, we are getting our message across centrally to the policy makers, and I am hoping to meet with Clive Bates soon (at his suggestion) so that we can discuss how to ensure that bad decisions are not made.

I'll keep you all posted.

Cheers,

Katherine

 

[McAldo]

Particularly because he says "nicotine replacement therapies like electronic cigarettes have proven succesfull".
Ecigs have definetely proven succesfull in completely replacing tobacco use, at least in my case, but NRTs seem to be regarded as useless, based on what I read around and the few people I know who tried them, who all stopped and then started smoking again big time.
That identification between ecigs and NRTs seems unbreakable. Let's be honest, these people don't think we should be vaping all our life, there seem to be an almost moral opposition to it

 

[KulrMeStoopid]

oh but they sure as hell want us SMOKING all our lives


Do they not realise we all arent as stupid as they think?

 

[AnnaLaw]

If I didn't already know about the stupidity, the corruption, backhanders, officials only giving the information they want known and so on I'd conclude that all these bodies are composed of morons (from the Greek, moro, baby, I think).
Does the MHRA realise that if all nicotine-containing products needed a medical license then cigarettes, tomatoes and potatoes would.. they'd be doing a Maldives?
When they talk about NRT they mean using it with the intention of stopping the use of nicotine, although Big Pharma now sell 'pre-quit patches' which appear identical to normal ones apart from the statement that you can smoke while wearing them for 2 to four weeks before quitting nicotine.
I read that 7% of vapers do actually quit nicotine, but if a product does not have a medical, therapuetic purpose it can't be a medicine. The medicinal purpose of NRT is to stop using any form of nicotine (apart from chips and tomatoes) and the purpose of ecigs is to provide a safer method of nicotine delivery. That's why every EU country that has tried to ban them has had the ban laws overturned by courts... the government does not have the power to reclassify something as a medicine.
They want to remove the competition to quit drugs and cigarettes and this is the way they decided to do it.
I read that the EU is demanding to see the investigation of Dalli. If the effective ban on snus in Sweden (by banning flavours) is there because Swedish Match refused to pay a bribe, then probably the anti-ecig bits are there because Big Pharma and Big Tobacco did pay bribes. Certainly pharma corruption is well known, they expect to pay billions in fines for releasing dangerous drugs, faking research and the rest every year.

But the problem is to get the facts about ecigs into public consciosness including that of MEPs.
As for the ANTZ, I think they object to the hand to mouth action and would ban chewing biros if they could!

 

[EthelKing]

I've just had another "Thanks for writing, here's your copy of our standard MEP reply" - I won't be replying...

Dear Lee,

Many thanks for writing to me about the important issue of the EU Tobacco Products Directive, and how it will affect electronic cigarettes.

Because e-cigarettes are a relatively new product they are regulated differently in each EU country. Some countries allow e-cigarettes to be sold without any regulation at all. Others have banned the sale of e-cigarettes. As the UK is part of the EU's internal market it is important that we harmonise the way we deal with this product, otherwise consumers could be buying unregulated products which do not conform to basic safety standards, either within their own country, or by easily purchasing it over the internet from a neighbouring country.

The European Commission has proposed that all 'nicotine containing products' with more than 2mg per unit should not be classed as tobacco products. Instead, under the Commission's proposals, nearly all
e-cigarettes will need to get authorisation as a pharmaceutical product, in the same way as nicotine patches, sprays and gums.

Of course there is a balance to strike. On one hand e-cigarettes have the potential to be a helpful way to help somebody quit smoking entirely and greatly improve their health. On the other hand e cigarettes currently can contain up to 48mg of nicotine - far more than a regular cigarette, making them highly addictive. As nicotine is the drug that makes cigarettes addictive, somebody that tries
e-cigarettes could be much more likely to go on to smoke regular cigarettes. Furthermore, there is no evidence that e-cigarettes are safe, and it is concerning that they are being marketed as a 'healthy' alternative to smoking. Currently we do not have any conclusive evidence either that e-cigarettes are helpful for giving up smoking, or that they encourage it.

While we do not have this scientific evidence to rely on I think it is wise to have a cautious approach to e-cigarettes. If they are effective in helping people to stop smoking, then it is appropriate that they are regulated in the same way as other smoking cessation tools, such as nicotine patches.

The Commission proposal is not final and there will be many months of negotiations by the European Parliament, as well as health ministers from the UK and other EU countries, before the legislation is agreed. During this time Labour MEPs will be looking carefully at all of the measures and trying to find the best way to ensure that we effectively reduce smoking rates in the UK and across Europe.

Thanks again for writing to me on this important issue.

Best wishes

Claude Moraes MEP
Labour Member of the European Parliament for London