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Message to House of Lords to support defeat of TPD

Wyn68

Postman
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Messages
291
Here is what I've just spent a Friday night doing.... Now for a beer or seven. [edit - please don't find any typos or grammar errors, and if you do keep them to yourself :) ) ]

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Dear Lord Callanan,

May I take this opportunity to thank you for your motion to annul SI 2015/507. I wish you all the best in your endeavour to remove electronic cigarettes from this imposed legislation.

For your information, this evening I have sent the following message to 40 individual Lords and Ladies (with direct email addresses) in the hope that they will support you. Please feel free to circulate or use the information as you see fit.

Yours sincerely ,
[redacted]

Dear X,

Please excuse this intrusion into your busy time, however I feel obliged to write and ask for you to support The Lord Callanan in his “Motion relating to Delegated Legislation” to annul SI 2015/507 (Tobacco and Related Products Regulation 2016). I do this not as a supporter of Tobacco products but, from personal experience, as a great believer in the benefits of vaping to which the enactment of SI 2015/507 has a detrimental, if not devastating, impact.

The whole process of the TPD has greatly increased my knowledge of how the Commission, Council and Parliament work and interact (especially Trilogue) and so, from being a believer in Europe, I am now erring on voting to Leave as "First they came..." by Niemoller comes to mind, and I fear what will be next.

I declare that I have no conflict of interest and have not worked for any tobacco or vaping company in any capacity in the past or present. I am also happy for this communication to enter the public domain.

If you have time and interest I would like to share the progression of my journey to vaping. This I hope will inform you as to why I strongly believe that the motion raised by The Lord Callanan requires you support.

I started smoking at University (it was a Polytechnic back in those days) and was soon smoking 20 cigarettes a day. I continued to smoke 20-30 cigarettes a day for the following 25 years and in those years tried at least once a year to quit by means of going cold-turkey or with the use all manner of licenced nicotine replacement therapy (nicotine gum, patches, lozenges, inhalers and throat spray*) but, even though I was fully aware that it was greatly detrimental to my health, these attempts were to no avail.

Then, just over four years ago I heard about electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) through an advert in the press and thought I would try them. Unfortunately the type that was promoted at the time were “cig-a-like” (or first generation) e-cigs and for me these were ineffective as they did not provide the sensation of smoking, nor deliver a sufficient nicotine hit and so I reverted back to smoking. They were also inefficient in terms of having an extremely short battery life and also expensive due to the need to purchase replacement cartridges from the manufacturer. While ineffective, the fact that they were advertised raised to me the possibility of a route out of smoking – something that SI 2015/507 will prevent for current and future smokers.

Several months after reverting to smoking, I became aware of the second generation (or ego/pen style) e-cigs by a chance meeting with a vapour who explained how they worked and where I could purchase them online. Intrigued, but wary after my experience with cig-a-likes, I purchased my first eGo setup with a replacement and refillable tank, along with nicotine containing liquid (e-juice**) in various strengths (1.8%, 2.4% and 3.6% nicotine). From this date, Tuesday 30th April 2013, I have not smoked but have only vaped.

Since the complete transition to vaping my breathing has improved, my energy levels have increased, I no longer cough in the morning and my pocket is richer. - although this will probably change as the European commission has been asked to prepare a legislative proposal by 2017 to raise an EU wide tax, possibly at the "highest common denominator". I have also passed forward the kindness of the vapour who helped me, by never refusing to explain to interested persons as to what I was using and why. I now know of at least 8 individuals who now exclusively vape due to our interactions (and hope that the growth has been exponential).

Initially I needed to use the 3.6% nicotine strength to satisfy my cravings but soon (after 2 months) moved to the 2.4% and then to 1.8%. If as stated in SI 2015/507 the maximum strength of nicotine containing liquid is limited to 2.0% then I am unsure whether I could have successfully transitioned to vaping from smoking. This therefore has the potential for restricting future persons from also completely transitioning to vaping from smoking, which I feel is a great opportunity missed in terms of public health.

Over these 3 years I have also purchased better/bigger tanks and battery devices (moving to 3rd generation - variable wattage and currently 4th generation – temperature control). Currently I vape two different strengths of e-juice depending on the type of vaping I do. For direct lung inhalation (the type that produces big clouds of vapour so beloved of the press) I vape 0.6% nicotine. However this is an excellent way of using e-juice quickly so I use a 5mL refillable tank. Alternatively I use a 1.8% strength that is more discrete as it is mouth to lung inhaled. This uses less e-juice, however to avoid having to refill on the go I use a 3mL tank. If restricted to a 2mL tank (which will probably have a working volume of about 1.5mL) I will be obliged to carry a refill container with me to top-up on the go.

Finally I find it strange that in SI 2015/507 the minimum pack size for cigarettes is to increase from 10 to 20+ cigarettes per pack so as to discourage youth take up due to price sensitivity, while that the maximum size of refill container is limited to the smallest size commercially available ( i.e 10mL).

I would like to thank you for your time reading this. If you have any questions, queries or would like clarification on any of these points please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,
[redacted]

*ingredients = nicotine, propylene glycol, anhydrous ethanol, trometamol, poloxamer 407, glycerol, sodium hydrogen carbonate, levomenthol, mint flavour, cooling flavour, sucralose, acesulfame, potassium, hydrochloric acid, purified water.
**ingredients = nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerol, flavour


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