Follow-up mails from IG-ED concerning the trialogue

Due to the negative signals which reached us from the Council, we decided to write a follow-up mail:

To: The Members of the Council, Heads of Governments, Ministers of Health, Ministers of Consumer Protection

Re: Last Counselling on the e-cigarette, December 3rd, 2013

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The IG-ED e.V. is the first consumer’s organisation of German speaking e-vapers (that’s how the users of e-cigarettes call themselves). We work voluntarily and independently of producers and dealers, and our goal is to inform about the e-cigarette as well as to correct the manifoldly circulated misunderstandings and faulted information. We would like to point out that we don’t represent any commercial interests – our activities are solely based on membership fees, donations and many personal contributions of our members.

During the preliminary stages of the issue we had already been invited to a stakeholder meeting and to the workshop about the e-cigarette in the European Parliament and were able to defend our point of view. Meanwhile evidence is getting stronger that The Council obviously is not willing to implement the modified suggestions of the European Parliament regarding the e-cigarette.

Obviously the Lithuanian presidency seems to claim that the member states want to adhere to a regulation as a pharmaceutical and even wants to lower the alleged safety limits from what was originally proposed by the Commission. In our eyes, this conduct contradicts any democratic convention; and among other things it seems to be the result of rapporteur Linda McAvan’s crusade.

Along with lots of other consumers, we have written several times to those responsible in the EU and were able to present very valid reasoning pro vaping. Recent scientific findings seem to point out that e-vaping is THE manifold less harmful option to consuming tobacco, and is able to save millions of lives throughout Europe. Therefore, from our point of view it is completely incomprehensible and at the same time legally disputable why such a product should be regulated as a medicinal product, while tobacco products remain freely available, even if slightly restricted.

We strongly demand the Council of the EU to:

Accept the modifications brought in by the European Parliament with regard to the e-cigarette. Any different decision would be a caricature of the democratic process, which for sure will not find any agreement nor applause amongst the EU citizens.
Answer the wishes of the citizens and the consumers and to
Avoid unnecessary law suits in your countries and at the European Court if Justice.

For any further questions on this topic we will happily be at your disposal; furthermore we would like to point out that we will publish this text and potential answers on our homepage.

Sincerely yours,
IG-ED e. V.