Reply from MEP, looks promising.

[Robzki]

On 29 Apr 2013, at 14:16, mike nattrass <[email protected]> wrote:


I AM SENDING THIS TO MY CONSTITUENTS

At what point does EU regulation conflict with freedom of the individual?


UKIP MEPs will vote against this level of interference in personal choice by the EU but will consult prior to the vote.


The Nanny State concept is not unusual and big brother EU will wade into every area of your life unless we resist.


If you think that MEPs should restrict personal choice like this, when there is no sign of danger please let me know.


Try clicking onto the video link at the end of the letter below please.


Mike


MIKE NATTRASS MEP




HERE IS AN EMAIL FROM A CONSTITUENT


Greetings,


With regards to the EU proposal to regulate electronic cigarettes, I would first like to tell you my story.


I never wanted to quit smoking. It was a social activity I enjoyed and despite the proven health risks from tobacco smoking I enjoyed using a nicotine containing product that is legal, age restricted and available in many flavours (Pipe tobacco etc.)


I now use electronic cigarettes - I am amazed at how close to smoking the experience was - and within weeks my morning cough had cleared up and I didn't smell like an ash tray. I remained a happy user of nicotine.


As an adult - I chose not to smoke, but to enjoy a flavoured nicotine product which did not burn. Instead it vaporises liquid nicotine, and a few other chemicals which can be found in medical aerosol devices - such as sprays and inhalers.


I use 24mg e-liquid, buy from several UK based vendors and have not had any problems with the way these items are described or sold. I am confident that these devices do not encourage children to start using nicotine as they are intended for adults - just like alcohol or cigarettes.


As I rely on e-cigarettes and my chosen level of nicotine (24mg) - I do not wish the EU to dictate or regulate the maximum level, flavour or quantity I can purchase. If the proposed level of 4mg per ml of nicotine does occur, I will be back buying and using traditional tobacco cigarettes. The change in law would make me use a proven cancer causing nicotine product which is legal and available widely.


I implore you to consider opinions and experiences of these devices by the USER on their efficacy and availability. Just like coffee - nicotine is a drug some chose to enjoy.


It is your responsibility to hear us and take action. I respectfully request a considered and personal reply to my points above.


PLEASE also take the time to watch a short video that tells our story as electronic cigarette users.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfk492mwMx0&feature=youtu.be


Thank you for your time and attention.


Kind Regards

 

[Robzki]

And another.

Thank you for your email, outlining your concerns with the EU draft
Directive on tobacco and smoking. UKIP, being strongly libertarian, agrees
with your personal rights to take tobacco and the like for whatever personal
pleasure you take from it. We believe that the EU should have no
jurisdiction over us either as persons or as the United Kingdom in these
matters, and that we are entirely able to take these decisions for ourselves
as responsible individuals and as an independent nation. We will certainly
oppose this legislation at all levels, from votes in committee, speeches as
opportunity arises, meetings with industry lobbyists (BAT are in contact
with us), and final votes in the Strasbourg parliament.


In a more rear-guard manner, it may also be possible for UKIP to put down
amendments to the legislation to water it down in progress, or loosen the
limits for such things as milligrams allowed for OTC sales. Unfortunately,
our chances of success in these votes and amendments are small as the three
old parties all vote against us and in line with the EU band-wagon. The EU
is entirely against personal liberty and freedom, and certainly wishes you
to be forced to be healthy in the way it decides for you, which is for your
own good, in their view. Of course, eventually the EU will see fit to ban
all tobacco, let alone other nicotine products, so then only the black
market will exist, much as things went in the USSR and Red China.

As a further fall-back position it may be useful to prepare yourself for the
worst with research into non-EU controlled sources of nicotine fluid and the
like which may spring up in a free market response to the EU Big Brother-Big
Nanny State approach to these things, or even be available now. The UK alone
does an excellent job of regulating such things, and the EU intrusion is as
unnecessary as it is unwelcome.


Please support UKIP by voting thoughtfully in all available situations, we
are the only party fighting the EU on these and all other aspects of being
ruled by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels. As you did not elect them you
cannot vote them out, withdrawal is the only way.


On an experimental note, I hope you do not mind if I add that analogous
experience with persons weaning themselves off sugar in hot drinks shows
that a graduated approach can work. To trick is to reduce very slowly over a
reasonable period of time, allowing taste to adjust to each new lower lever
of sugar. Finally, when down to the final half teaspoon of sugar per mug it
may not be possible to reduce it by degrees anymore. At this point one takes
the plunge and drops the final amount entirely and goes cold-turkey for a
few days. Then all of a sudden, one is adjusted to the new taste of tea and
coffee without sugar and there is no need to go back. It is a mental effort
as much as a physical effort. Life without sugar in drinks is more
convenient and cheaper, much as with use of tobacco with harmful side
effects. Perhaps this might be an alternate way ahead if the appalling EU
gets its way.


Yours sincerely


Godfrey Bloom

 

[Robzki]

And another, strangely all from the ukip:



Thank you very much for your enquiry about the EU Tobacco Products Directive which includes both traditional cigarettes and E-cigs.


UKIP is strongly libertarian and we agree with your personal right to take tobacco for whatever personal pleasure you take from it. The EU should have no jurisdiction over us and we believe the United Kingdom is perfectly able to take decisions for itself. This includes the regulations they have in mind for E-cigs. We will oppose all aspects of this legislation, we shall vote against it in Committee, we shall speak against it in Committee and in the house as opportunity arises and we shall vote against it when it finally comes up in the European Parliament. We are very happy to meet representatives from the industry and from the medical profession to discuss this issue.


If it becomes possible we shall put down amendments to the legislation in order to weaken it but we are usually outvoted in these things especially as the three old UK parties usually vote against it and in line with the mass of MEPs from the rest of the EU. We often lose out this way because most countries of the European Union do not understand the concept of personal liberty and freedom.


The medical profession generally advises people against smoking for obvious reasons. However, the Royal College of Physicians has called for the E-cigs to be made more widely available, arguing that it is safer for smokers to use these alternatives than to continue smoking. They also find that E-Cigs are safer than other approaches like nicotine patches.


You may rely upon us to do what we can to derail this directive but the only real answer is to leave the European Union, a course of action which only UKIP advocates.


Yours sincerely




Derek Clark MEP
Carren Burrows
P.A. to Derek Clark MEP


The office of Derek Clark MEP
UK Independence Party
Suite 1, Rowan House
23 Billing Road
NORTHAMPTON
NN1 5AT

 

[kafiend]

Well, local elections are this week and UKIP see the opportunity in getting votes off the Conservatives and waverers. Kudos though for spotting an opportunity.

 

[Robzki]

Ta

All/most of the major parties just asked for my address and then replied that they weren't interested in and couldn't comment in the European parliament on issues that people outside their constituency are having. Some of them just told me to Feck off.

Rob

 

[Robzki]

And the green party:

Thank you for your email.


Greens favour effective regulation of the tobacco industry on public health grounds. However, my constituents have raised a number of important points about personal vapourisers / electronic cigarettes, which I have now brought to the attention of my colleagues on the relevant parliamentary committees working on this legislation. Please bear in mind that this is still at an early stage of the legislative process and that the Commission's proposal to revise the Tobacco Products Directive also relates to a number of other issues.


For more information, please visit http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-12-1005_en.htm


Yours sincerely,


Jean Lambert MEP
Green Party Member of the European Parliament for London

 

[AnnaLaw]

I'd given up on my Green MEP, her reply was worse than Labour.. and always sent the same copy/paste jobbie that has been reported in all the forums. Time to write again I think. Sorry but I started writing this in that darning IE10 that doesn't allow the Enter key to be used for this forum so this is one long paragraph.

 

[Robzki]

Liberal Democrats:


Thank you for your email regarding the proposal to review EU legislation on tobacco products and the impact this could have on electronic cigarettes.

It is important to stress that the new proposal to update the existing European wide legislation was published in mid-December and is yet to be scrutinized in depth by MEPs in the European Parliament as well national governments. At the moment the Directive remains a proposal, and subject to amendment from Parliamentarians, (and there is never a guarantee the legislation will be agreed or implemented).

That said notwithstanding the importance of cutting tobacco related deaths across Europe, my starting point on issues such as this is not to favour outright bans on activities private individuals undertake which do not detrimentally affect others. It may be that these products require better labelling for consumers, including ingredients and any side effects. At the same time I am aware that here in the UK the authorities are looking into the effects of these devices on health, and please be assured I will look closely at the arguments when the legislation makes its way to the floor of the House.

Thank you for contacting me on this matter and if I can be of any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me.

In view of your interest in how I might be able to help you, it occurs to me that you might like to receive my weekly email newsletter providing news and my views on EU developments. If so, please let me know and I will add your email address to my distribution list.

Yours sincerely

Sir Graham Watson MEP
Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament for South West England and Gibraltar

 

[Robzki]

And Labour, love the factual information regarding the amount of nicotine found in ecigs, "unregulated e-cigarettes have been found to contain far more nicotine than a regular cigarette" possibly nice for them to research the way nicotine is absorbed in an ecig. I think we are fighting a losing battle.....

Dear @&£)£

Thank you for your email. It is indeed a good thing that so many have been able to beat the unhealthy and expensive habit of cigarette smoking, and I appreciate that e-cigarettes can be a very useful and effective method for overcoming your addiction.


However, because e-cigarettes are a relatively new product they are regulated differently in each EU country. Some countries allow e-cigarettes to be sold without any regulation at all. Others have banned the sale of e-cigarettes. As the UK is part of the EU's internal market it is important that we harmonise the way we deal with this product, otherwise consumers could be buying unregulated products which do not conform to basic safety standards, either within their own country, or by easily purchasing them over the internet from a neighbouring country.


Of course there is a balance to strike. On one hand e-cigarettes have the potential to be a helpful way to help somebody quit smoking entirely and greatly improve their health. On the other hand, in some instances, unregulated e-cigarettes have been found to contain far more nicotine than a regular cigarette, making them highly addictive. As nicotine is the drug that makes cigarettes addictive such a level of nicotine could be counterproductive, or at worse dangerous. I accept that this has clearly not been the case in your experience.


While we do not have scientific evidence to rely on it may be wise to have a cautious approach to e-cigarettes. If they are effective in helping people to stop smoking, then it is appropriate that they are regulated in the same way as other smoking cessation tools, such as nicotine patches, sprays and gums, which have also been through a regulating process.


The Commission proposal is to regulate, not ban, and it is not final. There will be many months of negotiations by the European Parliament, as well as health ministers from the UK and other EU countries, before the legislation is agreed. During this time Labour MEPs will be looking carefully at all of the measures and trying to find the best way to ensure that we effectively reduce smoking rates in the UK and across Europe.


It is also important to note that anti-smoking groups in Scotland have also spoken of the urgent need to regulate the use of e-cigarettes to avoid creating a new wave of addiction. The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority (MHRA) is due to publish guidance next month. It is considering the reclassification of e-cigarettes as medicines, which would effectively take them off the shelves until they have had the necessary clinical trials and testing. These are much the same concerns as have been expressed by the EU.


A great number of constituents have contacted me who, like yourself, have found e-cigarettes extremely helpful in giving up smoking and I can entirely see your point that putting legislation in the way of that laudable goal would not be a good thing.


I intend to follow the Directive closely as it progresses through the Parliament and I will keep you informed of any significant developments.


Kind regards,


David


DAVID MARTIN MEP
Labour MEP for Scotland