Vapers! WE NEED YOUR HELP to encourage Congress and federal regulators to reject any proposal that would ban OR limit flavored e-liquid products. Right now, FDA is considering whether to regulate flavors and you need to be heard.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has said that your “personal stories are important to me.” But, he also refers to your stories of quitting cigarettes with vapor products as “anecdotes.”
An “anecdote” is defined as “an account regarded as unreliable or hearsay.” One way to change that is to offer your own sworn testimony via Declaration to FDA.
The Vapor Technology Association (VTA) & Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association (CASAA) are organizing the tens of thousands of smokers and former smokers like you to tell your story to FDA in connection with the FDA’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on flavors.
It is critical that Commissioner Gottlieb and his staff hear from consumers like you who rely on flavors.
How it works: Below is an example of what your Declaration would look like. All you need to do is enter all the information in the boxes accurately and truthfully. Remember, this is an official document being submitted to FDA, so please check your spelling and punctuation.
By filling out this information and submitting your declaration you: (1) understand and agree to create and submit an official Declaration swearing under the penalties of perjury that the facts you provide are true and correct; (2) authorize VTA and CASAA to attach your electronic signature to a printed version of your sworn Declaration for use in connection with VTA’s and CASAA’s public and private advocacy campaigns; and (3) agree that the declaration, information and data you provide will be shared by and between VTA and CASAA and with other third parties, including without limitation the FDA and media outlets, on either an aggregated or non-aggregated basis, and will be used for other purposes in connection with VTA’s and CASAA’s public and private advocacy campaigns.
DECLARATION OF [INSERT FULL NAME]
I, [insert full name], declare and state as follows:
1) I am over the age of 18 years and have personal knowledge of the facts set forth below such that I would be competent to testify as a witness to the same if called.
2) I am submitting this declaration in response to the FDA’s request for public comments on the above-referenced docket regarding a proposed rule on the regulation of flavors in tobacco products, including electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS), or vapor products.
3) I am a resident of [insert city], [insert state] and am [insert age] years of age.
4) I started smoking cigarettes when I was [insert age] years old and smoked them for more than [insert number of years].
5) I have been using vapor products for [insert number of years] and [insert number of months].
6) The categories of flavors of nicotine-containing e-liquid that I have used include [insert complete list of all flavors]. Of these, the flavor category that I use most often is [insert flavor used most often].
7) Before I started using flavored e-liquid products, I typically smoked [insert number of packs] of cigarettes per day.
8) [If, BEFORE USING VAPOR PRODUCTS, you previously tried to quit cigarettes but were unable to do so, describe in a few sentences your previous unsuccessful attempts to quit.]
9) Since I began using flavored e-liquid products, I have been able to [reduce or quit] smoking cigarettes.
10) [Insert description of how you used flavored e-liquid products to reduce your cigarette smoking and/or quit altogether].
11) If I did not have access to flavored e-liquid products, I would not have been able to [reduce or quit] smoking cigarettes.
12) [State whether you believe you would have been able to achieve the same results if only tobacco or menthol flavors had been available to you AND why].
13) If the FDA bans flavors or limits flavors to tobacco and menthol, I would likely [make flavored e-liquids myself; turn to unauthorized sources; return to smoking cigarettes; use other tobacco products].
14) For these reasons, I believe it is important that FDA not restrict the availability of flavored e-liquids for vaping products.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Dated: [insert month and day], 2018
[insert full name]
