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Tag: vaping

  • E-cigarette regulation good news for vapers

    E-cigarette regulation good news for vapers

    PETALING JAYA, Jan 3 — The Cabinet’s decision to entrust three ministries to regulate the use of electronic cigarettes and vaping is the answer vape aficionados nationwide were looking forward to.

    Vape Operators Association of Penang president Muhammad Hafidz Adnan, however, said there were suggestions the authorities could consider before finalizing the rules and regulations.

    He proposed electronic cigarettes be sold in stores registered with the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry to ensure the devices’ were not compromised.

    “With this announcement, it is our hope the ministries would curb the sale of electronic cigarettes online as it would be tricky to regulate. Safety of vapers comes into play here and sales should only be allowed via licensed stores,” he said in a statement.

    He said the association was looking forward to work with state executive councillor for health Dr Afif Bahardin and the local government in obtaining business licences for vape shops in Penang.

    “This engagement is much needed to allow the association become a communication platform between vape shop operators and local authorities,” he said.

    Malaysian E-Vaporisers and Tobacco Alternative Association president Rizani Zakaria called on the government to speed up the issuance of business licences for vape operators as it had been a long waiting game for industry players.

    “Our long-awaited request is finally answered. We hope they speed up giving licenses to operators to conduct business with an easy mind,” he said.

    Rizani said all five states — Penang, Kedah, Johor, Kelantan and Terengganu — which imposed a ban on vape should consider lifting the prohibition to grant opportunities for shop operators who have been in the business for years.

    “Most traders are experienced and conduct their businesses in accordance to the rules. The relevant state authorities should perhaps consider giving them a chance to operate once the new legislations were in place,” he said.

    Malaysian Organisation for Vape Entity (Move) secretary Syamsul Reza Mohd Mokhtar said the decision put Malaysia on the map as one of the first few countries to regulate the vape industry.

    “We will be known as the one of the pioneers and this will definitely get a cheer and applause from vapers around the world,” he said.

    He said the much-anticipated decision would convince vapers to swap their tobacco cigarettes for electronic cigarettes instead, and subsequently boost the local vape industry.

    On Wednesday, the Cabinet tasked the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry with regulating and enforcing safety standards for electronic cigarette devices and batteries and vaping devices under the Consumer Protection Act 1999 (Act 599).

    It would also regulate and enforce the marking and labelling of electronic cigarette devices and nicotine-free liquid and vapes through the various Trade Descriptions Acts.

    Under the new act, the licensing, production, distribution including import, export and sale of electronic cigarette devices, nicotine-free liquid and vapes would be monitored by the ministry.

    The Health Ministry would regulate the sale of e-liquid containing nicotine under the Poisons Act 1952 and Sale of Drugs Act 1952, which only permit licensed pharmacies and registered medical practitioners to sell preparations containing nicotine for medical treatment.

    The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, through the Department of Standards Malaysia, would develop standards for e-cigarettes batteries and devices and the packaging of nicotine-free, e-liquid and vapes under the Standards of Malaysia Act 1996.

    Following the decision, the Health Ministry will draft a new law to replace the Tobacco Control 2004 Regulations, while the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry would draft a new law relating to the control of electronic cigarettes and vaping within the next two years.

    Source: TheMalayMailOnline

  • E-Cigarettes To Remain Illegal In Singapore

    E-Cigarettes To Remain Illegal In Singapore

    The United Kingdom’s public health authority recently issued a report that said e-cigarettes are not only 95 per cent less harmful than regular cigarettes, but also have the potential to help smokers quit.

    But despite this stand by Public Health England (PHE), Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) is sticking by its view that e-cigarettes are dangerous and will remain illegal.

    In response to queries by The New Paper, an MOH spokesman said that the ban on e-cigarettes in Singapore, which will take effect from Dec 15, “takes a high precautionary level of protection for the public’s health”.

    According to MOH, the vapour from e-cigarettes still contains cancer-causing agents, which pose a real risk to both users and bystanders.

    “Additionally, we remain concerned that e-cigarettes could attract and harm a large number of new users (who may not necessarily be current smokers), get them addicted to nicotine, and hence potentially serve as a gateway to developing a smoking habit, particularly among our young,” the spokesman added.The PHE finding suggests there is no evidence that e-cigarettes are acting as a gateway to smoking for children and non-smokers. In fact, the study suggests that the opposite is happening – e-cigarettes may be contributing to falling smoking rates among adults and young people.

    The PHE study was released on Aug 19 and led by academics from King’s College London and Queen Mary University of London.

    Its findings have not only been challenged by MOH, but also departs from those of other health bodies.

    In 2014, the World Health Organisation released a report that backed stricter regulations for e-cigarettes and supported a ban on their use indoors and sale to minors.

    Another recent study by researchers from the University of Southern California suggests that teens who tried electronic cigarettes might be more than twice as likely to move on to smoking conventional cigarettes.

    Moreover, a report published on Aug 29 in medical journal The Lancet has cast some doubt about PHE’s assertion that e-cigarettes are 95 per cent less harmful.

    This claim, according to The Lancet, originated from a 2014 study in which at least three of its 11 authors had roles in the e-cigarette industry, with one of them having served as a consultant to e-cigarette distributor Arbi Group Srl.

    FLIMSY

    This raises questions about PHE’s conclusions. The Lancet says PHE has “fallen short of its mission” to “protect and improve the nation’s health and well-being” by relying on an “extraordinarily flimsy foundation”.

    Oncologist Dr Wong Seng Weng says that e-cigarettes are still largely misunderstood.

    He said: “The discussion is that there is less harm, but some research says that fumes might be carcinogenic. There is not enough data to be safe.”

    As for the assertion that e-cigarettes can help smokers quit, Dr Leong Choon Kit, a family physician from Mission Medical Clinic, said: “It does not solve the underlying problem of addiction. It’s like taking the easy way out without getting to the root.”

    Managing director at MW Medical Centre, Dr Madeleine Chew, agreed with this.

    “Nicotine creates craving and dependence, which are not desirable traits in human beings,” she said.

    However, at least one medical expert said that the situation is not so simple, as there is a chance that e-cigarettes could help people curb their tobacco addiction.

    Psychiatrist Associate Professor Munidasa Winslow said: “Unfortunately both approaches are true. It can be a gateway to actual smoking, but it does help some with cigarette or tobacco addiction to stop or reduce their use. Unfortunately the jury is still out on whether there is any real benefit from using e-cigarettes.”

    It is an offence to import, distribute or sell e-cigarettes here.

    Since 2011, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has prosecuted 10 people for selling such products.

    The penalty is a fine of up to $5,000 for a first offence and a fine of up to $10,000 for a second or subsequent offence on each count.

    Anyone with information on the illegal import, distribution or sales of e-cigarettes can call the HSA’s Tobacco Regulation Branch on 6684-2036 or 6684-2037.

     

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Public Health England: E-Cigarettes Less Damaging Than Smoking Tobacco

    Public Health England: E-Cigarettes Less Damaging Than Smoking Tobacco

    Vaping is safer than smoking and could lead to the demise of the traditional cigarette, Public Health England (PHE) has said in the first official recognition that e-cigarettes are less damaging to health than smoking tobacco.

    The health body concluded that, on “the best estimate so far”, e-cigarettes are about 95% less harmful than tobacco cigarettes and could one day be dispensed as a licensed medicine in an alternative to anti-smoking products such as patches.

    While stressing that e-cigarettes are not free from risk, PHE now believes that e-cigarettes “have the potential to make a significant contribution to the endgame for tobacco”.

    The message was backed by the government’s chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, who nevertheless cautioned that “there continues to be a lack of evidence on the long-term use of e-cigarettes”. She said they should only be used as a means to help smokers quit.

    “I want to see these products coming to the market as licensed medicines. This would provide assurance on the safety, quality and efficacy to consumers who want to use these products as quitting aids, especially in relation to the flavourings used, which is where we know least about any inhalation risks.”

    The 111-page review raises concerns about the length and cost of the the government’s licensing process, which is a key part of the revised strategy to cut tobacco use.

    No e-cigarettes have yet been licensed, unlike other nicotine-replacement therapies such as gums, lozenges and patches. Pilot schemes in Leicester and the City of London allow stop-smoking specialists to offer free e-cigarette starter kits, but smokers elsewhere cannot be offered e-cigarettes on prescription.

    The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency began its work in this area more than two years ago, and manufacturers have complained that it costs them millions to go through the process.

    Jane Ellison, the public health minister in England, reminded smokers that the best thing they could do to avoid falling victim to the country’s number one killer was to quit completely.

    “Although we recognise the e-cigarettes may help adults to quit, we still want to protect children from the dangers of nicotine, which is why we have made it illegal for under-18s to buy them,” she said.

    The review found that almost all of the 2.6 million adults in the UK now thought to be using e-cigarettes are current or former conventional smokers, most using them to help them quit tobacco or to prevent them going back to smoking.

    There was no suggestion that the products were a gateway into tobacco smoking, with less than 1% of adults or young people who had never smoked becoming regular cigarette users.

    The PHE decision comes after carefully choreographed moves by anti-tobacco campaigners and public health specialists to help move the NHS towards offering better smoking cessation support and to be less negative about e-cigarettes.

    Services are being urged to follow those in the north-east of England in offering behavioural support to those wanting to quit tobacco and using e-cigarettes to try to do so.

    Smoking kills about 100,000 people a year in the UK, most of those in England where there are thought to be eight million tobacco users. But official figures suggest smoking is now at its lowest prevalence since records started in the 1940s.

    Rates are highest in many of the most deprived areas of England, and getting smokers off tobacco is increasingly seen as one of the best ways of reducing health inequalities.

    Worryingly for many of those behind the policy change, increasing numbers of people – up to 22%, compared with 8% two years ago – think e-cigarettes are equally or more harmful than tobacco. This is leading some smokers to avoid switching, studies have suggested.

    Tobacco reduction campaigners say the public needs to be educated to recognise that although e-cigarettes, like tobacco cigarettes, contain addictive nicotine, they do not contain more dangerous chemicals such as tar and arsenic.

    PHE is also advocating careful monitoring of the e-cigarette market, particularly of companies closely involved with or part of big tobacco companies. It says the government must meet its obligations “to protect public health policy from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry”.

    Kevin Fenton, director of health and wellbeing at PHE, said: “E-cigarettes are not completely risk-free but when compared to smoking, evidence shows they carry just a fraction of the harm.

    “The problem is people increasingly think they are at least as harmful and this may be keeping millions of smokers from quitting. Local stop-smoking services should look to support e-cigarette users in their journey to quitting completely.”

    Peter Hajek, of Queen Mary University, London, one of the independent authors of the review, said: “My reading of the evidence is that smokers who switch to vaping remove almost all the risks smoking poses to their health. Smokers differ in their needs and I would advise them not to give up on e-cigarettes if they do not like the first one they try. It may take some experimentation with different products and e-liquids to find the right one.”

    Ecita, a trade association of e-cigarette manufacturers, said: “There could be huge long-term benefits to taxpayers and the NHS as well as to former smokers and their families. The proposed ban in public places across Wales is very worrying, as are many of the bans in pubs and restaurants across the UK. This appears to be driving a growing number of people to think the harm is the same, deterring smokers from moving to e-cigarettes, and damaging public health.”

    The smokers group Forest questioned whether prescribing e-cigarettes on the NHS would be a justifiable use of taxpayers’ money. Simon Clark, its director, said promoting them “as a state-approved smoking cessation aid ignores the fact that many people enjoy vaping in its own right and use e-cigs as a recreational not a medicinal product.”

    He said e-cigarettes had been successful because the consumer, not the state, was in charge. “If they want more smokers to switch to e-cigarettes, public health campaigners should embrace consumer choice and oppose unnecessary restrictions on the sale, marketing and promotion of this potentially game-changing product.”

    The switch in policy towards e-cigarettes coincided with publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association of research from Los Angeles suggesting that high school students who had use e-cigarettes are more likely to go on to try tobacco.

    But Hajek said this did not show that vaping leads to smoking. “It just shows that people who are attracted to e-cigarettes are the same people who are attracted to smoking. People who drink white wine are more likely to try red wine than people who do not drink alcohol.”

     

    Source: www.theguardian.com