well ive just fired off an email to farage.
im not the best person in the world when it comes to legal mumbo jumbo. fancy words and speeches and exact facts and figures.
i speak from the heart and the mind. so heres what i sent.
im sure there are plenty of holes in it but i think the point is getting the word out there to anyone and everyone who may be able to make a difference.
will send this to every damn mp, mep, and whoever else i can think of in the UK and EU if i have to.
even if it gets one person on our side then its something.
With the upcoming elections i am emailing all parties and representative's of each party to hear there view on article 20 of the TPD directive.
if you are not familiar with article 20 it is in regard to tobacco and more specifically ecig regulations.
as someone who has been a vaper ( ecig user ) for 2 years after having smoked for nearly 30 years i find that article 20 not only is implausible ( even impossible in several instances ) but also breaches on human rights.
if we look at the following from article 20. this is just one section and i will highlight the issues here and comment in red
3. Member States shall ensure that:
a) nicotine-containing liquid is only placed on the market in dedicated refill containers not exceeding a volume of 10 ml, in disposable electronic cigarettes or in single use cartridges and that the cartridges or tanks do not exceed a volume of 2 ml; ( limiting bottle size will increase costs to both vendor and customer. putting off more people from quitting and putting vendors out of business and worse still driving people back to smoking)
b) the nicotine-containing liquid does not contain nicotine in excess of 20 mg/ml;( most 20 a day smokers have a nicotine input equivalent to around 24-30 mg. by restricting this it will again stop people from switching to much safer Ecigs )
c) the nicotine-containing liquid does not contain additives listed in Article 7(6);d) only ingredients of high purity are used in the manufacture of the nicotine-containing liquid. Substances other than the ingredients referred to in paragraph 2(b) of this Article are only present in the nicotine-containing liquid in trace levels, if such traces are technically unavoidable during manufacture;e) except for nicotine, only ingredients are used in the nicotine-containing liquid that do not pose a risk to human health in heated or unheated form;
f) electronic cigarettes deliver the nicotine doses at consistent levels under normal conditions of use;( Impossible. there is no battery powered device currently in existence that can achieve this. as battery power drains the voltage drops resulting in lower temperatures to the coils and heating element. also as the coils and wicking becomes older this also affects the dosages. also it is impossible to measure as dosage is dependant on number of inhales and length of each inhale and also the “sucking power” of the inhale.)
g) electronic cigarettes and refill containers are child- and tamper-proof, are protected against breakage and leakage and have a mechanism that ensures refilling without leakage. (again no device that contains liquid that requires refilling can guarantee to be leak free. For the device to perform as it should requires airflow from the bottom and the output at the top ( where it goes into the mouth ) and as such cannot plausibly or realistically be “leak free” )
These are just a few sections highlighted here of the TPD article 20 directive. a directive that is aimed at keeping people Smoking rather than helping people to quit by way of an electronic cigarette . a device which has proven in substantial reports to be 1 1000 times safer than smoking.
With over 2 million users in the UK alone many like myself who have quit cigarettes the benefits to not only the health system in relation to savings from smoking related diseases, but also the industry this has built up in the UK with vaping shops, vendors and suppliers, the ONLY people to benefit from this absurd directive are the Tobacco industries and pharmaceutical companies . The tobacco industry for there huge loss in profit as more smokers turn to the healthier alternative of Ecigs. and pharma companies because as has been proved time and again ( less than 6% success rate ) there cessation aids that have been around for 20+ years are a failure.
it has also been proven that Ecigs are NOT a gateway to smoking. do not encourage teenagers to smoke. vaper has no detrimental effects in regard to air pollution ( unlike cigarettes ) and the ingredients in ecig liquids have been well documented as safe for many many years.
Vegetable glycerin. sold as a cough / sore throat medicine in many chemists ( non prescription )
Propelyne glycol . tested going back 30+ years actually show positive effects to the health in fighting illness .
flavourings. eliquid flavourings have been around many many years and stem from food based flavourings
nicotine. a well known and well documented substance. highly addictive but no more so than caffeine and is actually used for beneficial purposes.
Ecigs have the full support and research undertaken by Clive Bates former director of ASH. also PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND as shown in these videos here
http://www.clivebates.com/?p=2908
and the reports from renowned cardiologist and researcher Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos
of which he’s reports can be found here
http://www.ecigarette-research.com/web/index.php
and here
Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos » E-Cigarette Summit 2014
so i ask . as a member of the UK public. with the power to vote, that the above is looked into and acted upon in favour of ecigs.
the TPD directive is wrong on all counts and will cost millions of lives.
i ask as a husband, and parent. for the future health of my children, that we do not allow this directive to be implemented fully in 2016 and that it is quashed in its entirety.
that common sense prevails .
please support the EU article challenge as initiated by totally wicked
shown here
Article 20 Tobacco Products Directive Legal Challenge - Totally Wicked Legal Challenge Article 20 TPD
i look forward to your reply
Dean Messenger
