

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

General Comment:Dear Mr. Zeller:

I am writing as an individual consumer 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, as a consumer of products that are proposed for regulation under the Proposed Rule. 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 providing thoughtful comments on these important questions is limited. I have already spent many hours researching and dissecting these issues, but they take time. I know that 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 and the lives of many family members. I smoked my first cigarette when I was 21 years old. I continued for 5 years, attempting to quit using nicotine patches, gums, and cold turkey. These options did not work for me. The gum gave me constant canker sores, the patches gave me nightmares, and the cold turkey method made me very unpleasant to be around. I discovered electronic cigarettes in April 2013. Within a week of buying my first e cigarette setup, I had stopped using harmful cigarettes completely. Since that time, I’ve experienced 1 cold. I didn’t get pneumonia this past winter like I have the years prior. I can run without feeling like I’m dying. My clothes do not stink. I am more productive at work because I only feel the need to take one break to use my e cigarette rather than having a normal cigarette every hour and a half. I’m a better person because of e cigarettes. I started at 18mg of nicotine and I’m now down to 12mg, with plans to go lower. I hope my story will help you make the right decisions in this matter. 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.

I appreciate your consideration of my request and am happy to discuss this issue with you further.

Thank you



