How ASH Tried To Destroy Vaping

As I understand it, the fatal motion in the Lords to kill the EU TPD is being voted on this week, and ViP has some good advice for those wishing to sway Lords into backing Lord Callanan's proposal.

ASH once again are busy throwing vapers and smokers under a bus, desperate to protect the anti-smoker parts of the new legislation. They are downplaying the effect that the restrictions on e-cigarettes will have on the viability of vaping as an alternative to smoking. Their recent press release http://www.ash.org.uk/media-room/press-releases/:new-eu-rules-on-nicotine-strength-not-a-problem-for-most-vapers emphasised that ‘only’ 9% of the vaping population would be affected by the restrictions on e-liquid strength, calmly ignoring the fact that this translated to 252,000 individuals, many of whom are people just in the process of switching to vaping. ASH are also completely ignoring current and future smokers who may choose to switch. 

Unfortunately Labour are listening to ASH.

This is why we are asking the vape community to write and tweet to Labour MP’s, Shadow Health Team, Labour Lords and a few other key decision makers.

It’s expected that most of the Labour Lords will vote as they are instructed to by the party whips. Let’s make sure the whips are saying the right thing!

Indeed.

Unfortunately, far too many people listen to government sock puppet ASH in my opinion. They wield too much power over the public considering they have been shamelessly scrounging our taxes for so many years.

On the subject of vaping, I've written recently about how their implacable opposition to allowing e-cigs being available as a consumer product has been disingenuous in the extreme, and on how they have staged a sustained campaign in favour of stifling restrictions.

They are currently furiously lobbying parliamentarians in an attempt to stave off Lord Callanan's vote being successful. That's how very much they despise the thought of recreational vaping - the attraction which has encouraged so many people to take up the devices - being allowed to continue. Not about health, is it?

Anyway, as we await news of the vote, I thought you'd like to see how much worse it could have been if ASH had got their way when the wording of the TPD was being discussed. From the ASH emails, we can see that Debs and her colleagues didn't just want medicinal regulations for products which exceeded 4mg/ml ... they wanted med regs for the whole market irrespective of nicotine strength.

In short, they actively worked to get all vaping products to fall under EU Directive 2001/83/EC which regulates "medicinal products for human use". That is, the same heavy regulation that their friends in the pharmaceutical industry are bound by for patches, gum and other lucrative but useless products. Isn't that an incredible coincidence?

You can read their suggested amendments below.

ASH Recommendations on E-cigs to the TPD March 2013

It's little wonder that they're trying so hard to derail Lord Callanan's motion then, is it? Even the strict and pointless regulations under Article 20 of the TPD must come as a big slap in the face for prohibitionists like Debs.

If you haven't already written to support this week's motion, do consider doing so by following ViP's guides here and/or here ... if only because ASH will hate you for it.