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ECITA in Brussels - updates, news and the latest gossip...

Thanks for posting that link EjuiceBox. A fascinating listen and I liked that Doodlebug started and ended it too. I know that Katherine has praised the Elite legal team and that they have proved to be helpful generally but I agree that his comments about flavours (they have only tobacco and menthol products) doesn't help. I was pleased Katherine addressed that at the end. You could say the same about the American who favours categorising it as a tobacco product doesn't help either. The key is as Katherine says just lifting the mg limit to something bloody sensible instead of 4mg!
 
Katherine was fantastic and made an excellent case. Saying that 5% would be a sensible limit, especially as those antis would probably get percentages and mg mixed up!
We had two companies that were singing from a different hymn sheet. It is a great shame that ECITA is so reliant on e-Lites, because their business model is very similar to BAT/Intellicig only they don't have millions for an MA in spite of their product being as expensive or more expensive than cigarettes, only they get all the profit, most of the cost doesn't go to the government.
The organisation that wants classification as tobacco is, basically, TW (I think they don't like their name in forums unless they're being praised. That's another overpriced product that sells mostly cigalikes although they do have more than tobacco and menthol flavours. In the USA most eliquid is classed as a tobacco product and it may be that fact gets e-cogs banned there. Imagine buying cigalikes at 45 mg with big warnings about smoking causing cancer, impotence, lung disease, heart attack, addicts children through second-hand smoke... with large sick (literally) porn photos covering the packaging.
Of course e-lites want only tobacco and menthol, their customer base doesn't know you can get other flavours. I almost bough e-lites as my first vape but was put off by the price so bought UK Halo, expensive, didn't do much for me, but a choice of flavours and I think they sell cherry, maybe vanilla as well. But cigalikes don't work for me, when I used them I kept going back to real cigarettes rather than 'pretend' ones, but that's my psychology.
Professor Konstantinos Farsalinnos has probably done more genuine unbiased research into the way eliquid affect physiology than anybody else, he is one of the leading experts and probably the leading expert in the effect of everything from smoking to e-cigs who isn't funded by BP or BT or ANTZ and I thought the way he was treated was disgusting.
He should have been given as long as he needed at the very first meeting as he really is an expert. That farce on 25th February lacked a single person who had any idea what they were talking about.
The most sensible suggestion was to create a new classification of nicotine-containing products (minus tomatoes hopefully) that would cover everything from NRT to e-cigs, creating the level playing field that BP wanted back in 2008 when they started to get worried about a future where e-cigs took money away from them... only a truly level playing field isn't wanted by BP as NRT is not as popular as e-cigs. But as NRT can now be sold as a long-term substitute to smoking, what is the real difference apart from the lack of appeal of NRT?
I could go on for ever but I won't.
Today seven countries are giving their response to the TPD, item 17 on the agenda here.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-live/en/committees/video?event=20130320-1500-COMMITTEE-ENVI

After medicine regulation, just after fluorinated greenhouse gasses.
 
Hi, all,

I am so sorry not to have been able to get back to you all before now, but I have been having major problems getting online - incredibly frustrating!!!

I have (finally!) been able to download the audio, and am listening to it now. I agree with most of what everyone has said (and we had a few choice words for Charlie after the flavourings thing, I can tell you!) but I don't believe this fight is lost - not by a long way. We shall continue to correspond with Linda McAvan, and all the other MEPs, to emphasise the need to increase the level, and to further elucidate the ISE auditing programme, and how it can help to solve the perceived problems. I still believe (resolutely, even into our 4th year of doing this!) that sensible, proportionate decisions are possible, and that we can help them get this right.

We have some other meetings this week, and the consumers are having their meeting today (Wed), with at least the largest German consumer organisation attending. (They have already indicated that they are broadly putting forward the same message as us, so hopefully, there will be some alignment there.)

I also agree that it is very disappointing not to have better agreement across the industry reps. We have been doing what we do for a very long time, and it is enormously frustrating to have people coming in at the eleventh hour, apparently just to throw spanners in the works! Nonetheless, I still believe that our common sense approach, combined with the clearly delineated solution we are offering them, can win the day.

It's interesting to note that the one point on which all the industry reps agree is that these are not medicines. If nothing else, I am certain that the Parliament must have got that message!

Lots and lots more work to be done....

Happy vaping, one and all!

Cheers,

Katherine
 
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I'm sorry if this has already been covered (I'm still getting up to speed on the situation) but does our government have a view/position on E-cig's and the tobacco directive?

And how do I find out who my MEP is?,,,,,I feel the need to Email him coming on.
 
It was interesting hear the discussion, Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos was loud at times (:P) but made very good points.

About the flavours, I believe some nicotine gums got some flavoured ones as well, I don't see the point of flavours being a problem. I mean I've used nicolite ciga-like ecigs for months and their regular non-flavoured cartomizers for months and even after switching to ego-batteries, mods and tanks I don't vape no more so than when I was vaping on nicolites.

I think main problem and the confusion arises from trying to fit ecigs into medicinal regulation or the tobacco directive, which it doesn't really fit into either of them. I guess it isn't easy to create a new regulation for nicotine containing products, as it will solve everyones problem.
 
Regulation for just nicotine containing products wouldnt solve problems it would make more :P Because then certain foods would fall into the new regulation ;)


What would solve everyones problem is for them to leave them alone!
 
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