

Comment Info: =================

General Comment:  I’m 44 years old, an electrician, a combat veteran and an ex-smoker. I loved to run when I was a kid and even though I started smoking when I was 12 years old I could still compete with the fittest, youngest guys while I was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. We usually ran 4 to 5 miles, 5 days a week. Every morning I was coughing and hacking up phlegm. After I got out of the service I quit running and eventually I would get winded just doing average tasks at work. I became very sedimentary and gained a considerable amount of weight. At my heaviest a few years ago I weighed about 275lbs.

  A little more than three years ago, after 29+ years of smoking over a pack a day, I was was waiting for a delayed flight in an airport. Desperately craving a cigarette I saw a man I thought was smoking. I approached him and he explained that he was “vaping”. I did some research and bought my first electronic cigarette online. It was a “cig-a-like” device that didn’t last very long and wasn’t completely satisfying but I saw its potential. They were cheaper than cigarettes, didn’t smell bad or make me smell bad, didn’t stain my fingers or my teeth and I heard they were less harmful to my health as cigarettes. Soon thereafter I bought my first “ego style” device, which had a longer lasting battery and a refillable cartridge, I haven’t picked up another cigarette since.

  Not long after I started vaping I began to notice quite a few changes. I wasn’t coughing in the morning. I wasn’t winded just from getting up off the couch. I could smell and taste everything better. I started exercising because I could breathe again. I bought some dumbbells. I bought a treadmill. I’m running again. I’m now running 3.2 miles a day 3 times a week. I’m back down to 185 lbs and when I have a craving for something sweet I can vape something sweet without any calories.

  I have absolutely no doubt that e-cigs have improved my health, saved my life and saved me a considerable amount of money not only on what I’ve saved in cigarette costs but in healthcare and medical bills. Before e-cigs I was well on my way to an early death.

  As a concerned consumer I feel it necessary to request an extension of the comment period for the Food and Drug Administration's ("FDA") Proposed Rule Deeming Tobacco Products to be Subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the Family Smoking and Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (the "Proposed Rule") published at 79 Fed. Reg. 23,142 and Federal Register No. 2014-09491. On behalf of myself, I am requesting that the comment period for the Proposed Rule be extended by the FDA for an additional 105 days, from its current 75-day period, to 180 days.

  The Proposed Rule raises a number of significant issues and questions that are important and relevant to me. The Proposed Rule asks about a hundred different questions I might want to respond to. I want to provide my thoughts and comments on many of these issues, but my time to devote to researching and resources for performing this research are limited. I have to rely on other reliable sources for this information and they need more time.I know the FDA took many years to even come up with the Proposed Rule, so I do not think it is at all unreasonable to allow the public a mere six months to comment on it. This is our only opportunity, as consumers, to provide our feedback.

  I feel very strongly about e-cigarettes as an alternative to combustible cigarettes. Quite simply, I firmly believe that they saved my life. I wish to provide you with, not only my personal story, but science- and evidence-based responses to your questions as well so that you can take my comment into account. I realize that the FDA has the authority under 21 CFR 10.40 to extend this time frame and that the FDA has exercised this authority on numerous occasions in the past. I would therefore ask that you do so here, so that all stakeholders have the opportunity to provide their comments on this proposed regulation.
