Viscount Ridley house of lords tuesday 10th may

[davroz]

Thanks for all of this, lovely find.

Ultimately the solace is that at least politicians are talking about this ..... tumbleweed silence is worse than the kiss of death in Westminster

 

[wraith]

I'm not a fan of the House of Lords and admit that probably the only people staying awake for the debate were those who have benefited from vaping but they make their case well and actually seem to care and make a lot of sense (even if you discount the ingrained euro-sceptisism).

Does anyone really think Cameron cares more whether they live or die or that he is less susceptible to pressure (if not outright bribery) from tobacco peddlers, nicotine patch snake-oil purveyors or lung-cancer treatment profiteers than some bunch of dull politicos in Brussels? In any case he's so busy trying to make the case for Europe and prevent his party imploding that there is no chance he will question their decisions before the referendum.

It looks like the only fix for this is a Europe wide campaign of civil disobedience. Just keep vaping as usual and hope that the numbers of dissidents are high enough that they don't have the will or resources to enforce the law and rewrite it instead. Unfortunately that puts a lot of the risk on the shoulders of vendors inside the EU who decide to participate but they are the prime targets of this frankly corrupt arsebuggery and have more to lose either way until there is an outbreak of sanity (because it's easier for an individual to work around the legislation below the radar without being made an example of than a company because even if they are a one man show they have more visibility).

 

[vapingmongoose]

I think we need to take a bit more of the approach that American vapers are taking. For the last 2 years in the US, and specifically since the final FDA regs were published recently, all over social media and YouTube there are examples of and pleas for people to contact their local representatives on the issue and urge them to do the right thing. We should be contacting our local MPs, members of the House of Lords, the PM, and any politician who publicly shows themselves to be pro-vaping.

At the end of the day, whatever country you choose, politicians (excluding Lords obviously) are interested in one thing and one thing alone - votes. Without our votes, politicians jobs, their position and standing within the establishment, and their ability to continue reaping the benefits of their position are all threatened. With an estimated 3 million UK vapers, that's a hell of a lot of votes. We need to be telling our elected politicians what we expect from them in order for them to get our votes and that we will vote for other pro-vaping candidates if they don't support us.

I would never encourage people to be single issue voters, I know there are bigger issues in the world than vaping. However, for me personally, vaping is incredibly important and has probably saved my life - and that's no exaggeration. I know the vast majority of vapers feel the same and it's about time we made our voice heard here in the UK. 3 million potential votes is huge when you consider the low election turnouts these days, so the influence and clout we could have as a community could be absolutely massive if we start shouting and lobbying about why vaping has worked for us, why vaping must be protected, and why they must act on our behalf.

In the UK we are too meek and mild sometimes. We need to remember these politicians are public servants and work for us! We are their bosses. If you're making shit decisions at work and not doing the best for the company you work for, does your boss just keep quiet and hope you change for the better? No, your boss tells you to buck up. We need to do the same as the 3 million bosses of these politicians and start using our votes as currency in exchange for our vaping rights!

Independent scientific studies are on our side, the Royal College of Physicians is on our side, and common sense is on our side. It's now time for us as a community to make ourselves heard and force those in power to act on all the evidence to do the right thing!

 

[mannikon]

We also need to give them direction. They can all go heah heah when an MP stands and says vaping is a good thing but they will go on to agree that regulation is needed and remember the children we must protect them and so on. So we say yes to sensible regulation. No to taxation. Don't be ridiculous to small tanks and juice bottles. Yes to juice ingredients reporting but subsidised by HMG for the public good. Etc.

 

[vapellie]

I'm voting we go back to a feudal system! The Lords making more sense than the Commons these days!

 

[mannikon]

But then we would see the violence inherent in the system. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

 

[Gonloopy]

Just as a little side note for information purposes to those suggesting we are too meek and mild in the UK and suggesting to contact MP's etc.

Maybe you werent vaping in 2012 -13 when all of this legislation was being drafted? - but many members here ( and elsewhere) put in a huge amount of effort to challenge legislation. Back then vaping was on the verge of being outright banned. Many people contacted MPs / MEPs, wrote letters, signed more petitions than they care to remember,, attended protests freezing their knackers off in the process, conducted social media campaigns etc . Even political parties were set up so that our voice couldnt be silenced. Im sure many of our older members will attest to this.

Its the hard work and dogged determination of UK vapers, that has left us with the most relaxed application of vaping legislation in the world. That doesnt mean to say that the TPD is not a steaming pile of pigshit, -it absolutely is, and its particularly sucks for our vendors. I just felt the need to recognise previous hard work, and to doff my hat a little to all that was involved . We now have Public Health and the medical instituitions supporting us, -nowhere else in the world has achieved anywhere near this.

Im rambling now, but I suppose all Im trying to do is recognise the hard work people have previously put in and say ..
-Much achieved, ....more to do....

 

[schlinky]

Thanks for posting this, it was very encouraging to see our concerns being discussed in the proper forum and with such support.

It's nice to still have a little hope

 

[vapingmongoose]

Just as a little side note for information purposes to those suggesting we are too meek and mild in the UK and suggesting to contact MP's etc.

Maybe you werent vaping in 2012 -13 when all of this legislation was being drafted? - but many members here ( and elsewhere) put in a huge amount of effort to challenge legislation. Back then vaping was on the verge of being outright banned. Many people contacted MPs / MEPs, wrote letters, signed more petitions than they care to remember,, attended protests freezing their knackers off in the process, conducted social media campaigns etc . Even political parties were set up so that our voice couldnt be silenced. Im sure many of our older members will attest to this.

Its the hard work and dogged determination of UK vapers, that has left us with the most relaxed application of vaping legislation in the world. That doesnt mean to say that the TPD is not a steaming pile of pigshit, -it absolutely is, and its particularly sucks for our vendors. I just felt the need to recognise previous hard work, and to doff my hat a little to all that was involved . We now have Public Health and the medical instituitions supporting us, -nowhere else in the world has achieved anywhere near this.

Im rambling now, but I suppose all Im trying to do is recognise the hard work people have previously put in and say ..
-Much achieved, ....more to do....

Ok, it was possibly a poorly worded post previously on my part and for that I apologise. In no way did I mean to suggest that everyone here, or previous campaign supporters, were "meek and mild". My comment was intended towards the British public, who I think its fair to say prefer not to complain unless absolutely necessary. My focus was also on voting, where polling day turnouts by the electorate would seem to indicate we are somewhat apathetic as a nation.

Anyway, sorry if I put anyone's nose out of joint, my post was very much meant as more of a rallying cry to keep going now we have so much community momentum, with the spirit of "Much achieved, ....more to do" at the very heart of my post.

 

[Gonloopy]

Ok, it was possibly a poorly worded post previously on my part and for that I apologise. In no way did I mean to suggest that everyone here, or previous campaign supporters, were "meek and mild". My comment was intended towards the British public, who I think its fair to say prefer not to complain unless absolutely necessary. My focus was also on voting, where polling day turnouts by the electorate would seem to indicate we are somewhat apathetic as a nation.

Anyway, sorry if I put anyone's nose out of joint, my post was very much meant as more of a rallying cry to keep going now we have so much community momentum, with the spirit of "Much achieved, ....more to do" at the very heart of my post.

Theres no need to apologise mate!
I intended my post to be more for information than anything else, but maybe my meaning got lost in the writing. My nose is still as straight as its ever been , so don't worry!
And yes I think youre right the majority of the general public are blissfully unaware of everything thats going on, - despite our best efforts