

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. I wish to provide you with my personal story, as well as science- and evidence-based responses to your questions so that you can take my comment into account. 

My story: Hello, my name is Vince Cordell. I smoked for 12 years. to put that in perspective, I'm 23. I've tried everything I could to quit smoking, including patches, gum, exercise, and even replacement actions like eating carrots. Vaping has been the only thing that has worked for me. I have been proudly cigarette free for 5 months, from the day my son was born on December 5th, 2013. In that short amount of time, I've already seen a drastic improvement in my health, both mental and emotional. I can breath better, I think clearer, I don't get sick all the time, and, as an added bonus, I have much more money to use on other things! I would never go beck to smoking cigarettes, and I have never had the urge to try one again. I even plan on weening myself off of nicotine altogether eventually, and it's much easier to do that vaping. I'm just so thankful to have this wonderful outlet that helped me kick cigarettes, and I hope to keep it for me and other vapers/ future ex-smokers.


 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.
