2nd Workshop call to action and ORV comment

CASAA has issued a call to action for us to comment on the FDA’s 2nd workshop. Of course no real experts were allowed at the workshop, but we were able to view it. CASAA gives a quick summary of the workshop on their website, but it was basically hand picked people that know very little about electronic cigarettes. These experts also expressed their concern about electronic cigarettes being marketed to children and causing abuse of nicotine. Here is a link to stand up for vaping. Below is Chad’s comment to the FDA. Feel free to use parts of it if it applies to your story. If you want to include documents, it is advised that you attach them in .pdf form. I provide a downloadable link at the end to the ‘beginner’s guide to vaping’ found on our own website.

THE FDA IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO READ EACH COMMENT. WITHIN ONE DAY OF CHAD SUBMITTING HIS COMMENT, AT LEAST ONE GOVERNMENT COMPUTER CONNECT TO OPENROADVAPOR.COM. SOMEONE IS LISTENING.

“I am commenting on Electronic Cigarettes and the Public Health; Second Public Workshop; Docket No. FDA-2014-N-1936-0003.

I have used Electronic Cigarettes on and off for about 4 years. It was about 1.5 years ago I completely switched from smoking to vaping due to advances in hardware and flavors.

I am a member of CASAA. We feel our organized voice is representative of real world vapers.

If you would have let consumers or other industry experts attend your workshop, you would have learned much more about real world use of electronic cigarettes and their benefits. The workshop seemed to be a bit biased and uninformed about what modern vaping actually entails. I will attach a beginners guide to vaping that explains how vaping has evolved over the last several years into a product that can greatly increase public health. I know my well being has improved drastically and I firmly believe vaping is the single greatest healthcare breakthrough of our century thus far.

Let’s talk about flavors for a minute. To illustrate my point, I will use a real world example that I experience not more than a week ago. A sixty year old man walked into the local shop and I happened to be there while he was trying one of my favorite flavors. He didn’t like it. I asked him why. He said it reminded him of the vanilla tobacco he used to smoke. He’s trying to stay away from things that remind him of smoking. Adults want flavors too! Btw, he ended up with a honeydew, apple cream. He didn’t get the kind I like, but I was glad he found a FLAVOR that he liked.

However, flavors have generally not enhanced abuse of electronic cigarettes. I don’t wake up in the middle of the night craving a vape like I did a cigarette. In fact, it is 3pm and I’m about to have my first vape of the day. It’s delicious and I’m enjoying it responsibly at a relatively safe temperature.

About regulations. I completely agree there should be child resistant caps on bottles and there should be a warning label about the product containing nicotine and therefore should not be taken as a drink. I agree with age limitations. However some of the proposed labeling is going a little far. California already requires warnings of birth defects. Here is an excerpt from the Atria’s Mark Ten packaging, …”and it is very toxic by inhalation, in contact with the skin, or if swallowed. Nicotine can increase your heart rate and blood pressure and cause dizziness, nausea, and stomach pain. Inhalation of this product may aggravate existing respiratory conditions….” I don’t see a reason for this type of scare tactic. I believe “very toxic” is uneeded. Of course we don’t know the full effects of vaping, but it’s safe to say it’s well over 90 percent safer and less toxic than setting things on fire and inhaling them!

Thank you,
Chad Chamberlain

downloadable link – http://drive.google.com/…/0B3zbVM_SsrIKeEJlbDYwcThfd…/view…