Given the apparent health study results and user’s anecdotal
testimony that they are “healthier” than regular tobacco based cigarettes, are
there any justification to classify e-cigarettes as a pharmaceutical product?
By: Ringo Bones
During a recent European Union discussion via the
powers-that-be at Brussels on whether to enact proposals to classify
e-cigarettes as a pharmaceutical product and to restrict their sale only
through pharmacies, may in the EU are now quite surprised on “why now”? After
all, e-cigarettes had been freely sold in supermarkets and kiosks that used to
sell conventional tobacco based cigarettes for years now. Even Katherine
Devlin, head of the Electronic Cigarette Industry Trade Association was quite
surprised by the recent proposal by Brussels.
For those unfamiliar with the product, electronic cigarettes
or e-cigarettes turn a nicotine laced liquid into vapor via a built-in battery
powered heater. For a number of years it has been used around the world by
smokers who are trying to avoid the harmful effects of regular tobacco-based
cigarettes – i.e. from the carcinogens found in tobacco like tar, polonium,
etc. Given that e-cigarettes for all intents and purposes a way of taking
nicotine - i.e. a nicotine delivery
system - for those who are chronically addicted to this tobacco derived
alkaloid, shouldn’t e-cigarettes – like other nicotine delivery systems like nicotine
patches and gums - be classified as a pharmaceutical product and be sold only
in government licensed pharmacies like most tobacco smoking related pharmaceutical products?
Even tough pro and anti smoking activists are still divided
over the long term effects of e-cigarettes, the powers that be in the European Union’s main
headquarters at Brussels are proposing for a more stringent health study on the
long-term health effects of e-cigarettes
or electronic cigarettes. And also, Adrian Everrett, C.E.O. of e-lites says so
far thoughout the world, nobody has yet died of e-cigarette use so far. Though
there had been isolated reports of unscrupulous retailers selling e-cigarettes
to minors who are not old enough to buy and / or publicly use conventional
tobacco cigarettes.
