I just sent this letter to one of my senators in Ohio, Sherrod Brown. I also posted it to FB.
If you find any if this useful, please feel free to utilize some of it for your own letters to lawmakers in your state, or federal officials.
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For years, nothing I tried helped me to quit. Not the patch, not the gum or lozenges. And the possible side effects of the pill terrified me.
But I finally quit cigarettes last year because I had access to flavored e-cigarettes. I chose my nicotine level, and slowly I tapered down to the lowest available. I don't feel the need to vape like I felt the need to smoke. I just enjoy it. I don't even cough in the morning any more.
Now, my doctor says my lungs are "crystal clear." I feel better than ever in my life. I have even become a vaping hobbyist, which (incredibly true) has helped keep me busy and sober from opioids for over three years now. So this issue is extremely important to me.
The real issues concerning this so-called vaping "health crisis" do not involve traditional nicotine-containing e-liquid. The culprits causing recent vaping-related deaths are black market THC cartridges. The CDC has said this in a statement. These illegal products have nothing to do with the e-liquid that millions of people use every day without any health problems.
The issue of youth vaping can be solved simply by enforcing age restriction laws that are already in place. Just because kids begin drinking alcohol, for example, no one is asking companies to eliminate flavored liquor. It's ridiculous and it won't work.
Besides, a flavor ban won't stop kids from vaping. It will simply force them to buy their e-liquid illegally, increasing the chances they obtain it from an unregulated, and thus likely dangerous source. Or even worse, they'll turn to cigarettes, which we certainly know are deadly and costly to our healthcare system. And for some reason are still sold in stores everywhere.
So, should the issue of banning e-cig flavors or any other restriction to traditional e-cigarette vaping arise, many thousands of vaping and voting Ohioans would urge you to please be reasonable.
Stand by our right to use e-liquid of any flavor we choose. Don't let the government kick away our freedom with a knee-jerk reaction to problems that haven't even been caused by the products we use.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Patrick R.
If you find any if this useful, please feel free to utilize some of it for your own letters to lawmakers in your state, or federal officials.
---
For years, nothing I tried helped me to quit. Not the patch, not the gum or lozenges. And the possible side effects of the pill terrified me.
But I finally quit cigarettes last year because I had access to flavored e-cigarettes. I chose my nicotine level, and slowly I tapered down to the lowest available. I don't feel the need to vape like I felt the need to smoke. I just enjoy it. I don't even cough in the morning any more.
Now, my doctor says my lungs are "crystal clear." I feel better than ever in my life. I have even become a vaping hobbyist, which (incredibly true) has helped keep me busy and sober from opioids for over three years now. So this issue is extremely important to me.
The real issues concerning this so-called vaping "health crisis" do not involve traditional nicotine-containing e-liquid. The culprits causing recent vaping-related deaths are black market THC cartridges. The CDC has said this in a statement. These illegal products have nothing to do with the e-liquid that millions of people use every day without any health problems.
The issue of youth vaping can be solved simply by enforcing age restriction laws that are already in place. Just because kids begin drinking alcohol, for example, no one is asking companies to eliminate flavored liquor. It's ridiculous and it won't work.
Besides, a flavor ban won't stop kids from vaping. It will simply force them to buy their e-liquid illegally, increasing the chances they obtain it from an unregulated, and thus likely dangerous source. Or even worse, they'll turn to cigarettes, which we certainly know are deadly and costly to our healthcare system. And for some reason are still sold in stores everywhere.
So, should the issue of banning e-cig flavors or any other restriction to traditional e-cigarette vaping arise, many thousands of vaping and voting Ohioans would urge you to please be reasonable.
Stand by our right to use e-liquid of any flavor we choose. Don't let the government kick away our freedom with a knee-jerk reaction to problems that haven't even been caused by the products we use.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Patrick R.
