Abyss
Achiever
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2013
- Messages
- 1,709
Dear Mr ******,
*
Thank you for your email setting out your thoughts on a proposal issued by the European Commission to amend current European law concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products. As the Conservative MEP who looks after correspondence from your area, I will respond on behalf of myself, Philip Bradbourn MEP and Anthea McIntyre MEP.
*
I took your concerns to the UK Conservative Spokesperson for this issue, Martin Callanan MEP, and he came back with the following response:
*
“Among the products to be affected by the proposed changes are electronic inhalers, commonly known as personal vaporizers or e-cigarettes, which vaporize a liquid solution containing nicotine into an aerosol mist which is then inhaled to simulate the act of smoking tobacco. The Commission proposes to limit the amount of nicotine in solutions sold for use in electronic cigarettes to four milligrams of nicotine per millilitre, unless the products have been classified as for medicinal use. This would render the solution too weak to be a viable source of nicotine for smokers or ex-smokers, or would require manufacturers to apply for a costly licence to manufacture medicinal products.
*
You are not alone in contacting me on this issue - many constituents feel similarly strongly. I have examined the arguments and I see the potential e-cigarettes offer as harm-reduction devices to improve human health. I understand that e-cigarettes offer concentrated nicotine to addicts without the 4000 toxins and carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, that the use of e-cigarettes removes the risk posed to non-smokers (and especially to children of smokers) by second hand smoke, that e-cigarettes appeal to adult smokers seeking to quit, but not generally to children or those not yet addicted to nicotine, that traditional nicotine replacement therapies proposed by the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry have had very limited success in helping smokers quit permanently, and that thousands of British e-cigarette users (and millions across the EU and the world) are likely to return to smoking if the directive is amended as foreseen if nicotine concentrations are limited to 4mg/ml. I have no doubt that this will lead to a large percentage of such users dying of smoking-related diseases that they might otherwise have avoided. Such arguments have led me to conclude that the proposed changes to limit permitted concentrations of nicotine solution sold in the EU are counter-productive and will do more harm than good.
*
As a member of the Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety I will put forward these arguments and work to convince other MEPs of the foolishness of diluting nicotine solution to the point of uselessness. **I would also encourage you to raise awareness among others in the vapourizing community. If you have not already done so I would also encourage you to write to your MP and request that they raise the matter in Westminster . If we bring to the attention of the public, the political world and the media the strong arguments in favour of e-cigarettes as a harm reduction device and the number of lives which can be saved through their use, we have a very strong chance of winning the argument.”
*
I would be happy to receive your comments and suggestions as we move through the legislative process. I have offices in the UK and in Brussels and if there is anything else you would like to bring to my attention, please do not hesitate to get in touch.*I am here to work on your behalf and would be delighted to hear from you.”
*
Thank you for getting in touch, and if you do have any comments and suggestions, please send them to me and my office will forward them on to Mr Callanan.
*
Very best wishes,
*
Malcolm Harbour CBE MEP
*
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Planet of the Vapes mobile app
*
Thank you for your email setting out your thoughts on a proposal issued by the European Commission to amend current European law concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products. As the Conservative MEP who looks after correspondence from your area, I will respond on behalf of myself, Philip Bradbourn MEP and Anthea McIntyre MEP.
*
I took your concerns to the UK Conservative Spokesperson for this issue, Martin Callanan MEP, and he came back with the following response:
*
“Among the products to be affected by the proposed changes are electronic inhalers, commonly known as personal vaporizers or e-cigarettes, which vaporize a liquid solution containing nicotine into an aerosol mist which is then inhaled to simulate the act of smoking tobacco. The Commission proposes to limit the amount of nicotine in solutions sold for use in electronic cigarettes to four milligrams of nicotine per millilitre, unless the products have been classified as for medicinal use. This would render the solution too weak to be a viable source of nicotine for smokers or ex-smokers, or would require manufacturers to apply for a costly licence to manufacture medicinal products.
*
You are not alone in contacting me on this issue - many constituents feel similarly strongly. I have examined the arguments and I see the potential e-cigarettes offer as harm-reduction devices to improve human health. I understand that e-cigarettes offer concentrated nicotine to addicts without the 4000 toxins and carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, that the use of e-cigarettes removes the risk posed to non-smokers (and especially to children of smokers) by second hand smoke, that e-cigarettes appeal to adult smokers seeking to quit, but not generally to children or those not yet addicted to nicotine, that traditional nicotine replacement therapies proposed by the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry have had very limited success in helping smokers quit permanently, and that thousands of British e-cigarette users (and millions across the EU and the world) are likely to return to smoking if the directive is amended as foreseen if nicotine concentrations are limited to 4mg/ml. I have no doubt that this will lead to a large percentage of such users dying of smoking-related diseases that they might otherwise have avoided. Such arguments have led me to conclude that the proposed changes to limit permitted concentrations of nicotine solution sold in the EU are counter-productive and will do more harm than good.
*
As a member of the Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety I will put forward these arguments and work to convince other MEPs of the foolishness of diluting nicotine solution to the point of uselessness. **I would also encourage you to raise awareness among others in the vapourizing community. If you have not already done so I would also encourage you to write to your MP and request that they raise the matter in Westminster . If we bring to the attention of the public, the political world and the media the strong arguments in favour of e-cigarettes as a harm reduction device and the number of lives which can be saved through their use, we have a very strong chance of winning the argument.”
*
I would be happy to receive your comments and suggestions as we move through the legislative process. I have offices in the UK and in Brussels and if there is anything else you would like to bring to my attention, please do not hesitate to get in touch.*I am here to work on your behalf and would be delighted to hear from you.”
*
Thank you for getting in touch, and if you do have any comments and suggestions, please send them to me and my office will forward them on to Mr Callanan.
*
Very best wishes,
*
Malcolm Harbour CBE MEP
*
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Planet of the Vapes mobile app
