Ecigs in parliament

[kate]

Diane Abbott has asked a question about ecigs in parliament:

"To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the number of people who smoked electronic cigarettes in each of the last five years; what assessment his Department has made of the potential health effects compared to smoking; and what requirements govern the smoking of electronic cigarettes in enclosed public places."

www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2012-07-10a.115606.h&s=nicotine#g115606.r0

[PeeKay]

A useful and interesting post, even if some of the research referred to is inaccurate. Thanks for this.

[Sandra (aka Chillax)]

Thanks Kate will have a butchers later when I have a bit more time to digest it

[Deleted]

I think this is the bit that may hit us.

"the MHRA is coordinating further scientific and market research with a view to a final decision on the application of medicines regulation in spring 2013."

[vereybowring]

What I find annoying is that a proper long term independent study needs to be done in the UK on the health side before legislation should be decided.
Also open debate must take place and the public should be briefed on the subject and have a chance to voice opinion.
Alas with pressure being levied from many sides this is not going to happen.

[gaura]

"The available data suggest that there can be great variability in the content of electronic cigarettes, both in the amount of nicotine present and also in relation to other potentially toxic substances.

Electronic cigarettes are not currently regulated as medicines, which are required to meet appropriate standards of safety, quality and efficacy."

This same argument was put forth some years back when the MRHA first took a look at e cigs and it simply does not stand as a reason to categorise e cigs as medical devices, because the exact same thing could be said of tobacco cigarettes. Tobacco cigarettes also present variability in the amount of nicotine present and other potentially toxic substances, so if this is the criteria for such a classification, then tobacco cigarettes should also have to be classified the same way, and also regulated as medecines.

This was the argument before and it still stands today. So I cant see how they can justify regulating e cigs as medicines, without doing the same with tobacco cigarettes.

So far EU courts have ruled against such classification of e cigs and that precedent will bear alot of weight in the UK when MRHA looks over the subject later.

It is not that the e cig industry does not want any regulations, I think most vapers would like to be sure that what they are vaping is what it is supposed to be, however such regulations can come about without the medicinal classification, because the medicinal classification, will likely kill the industry, due to few manufacturers being unable to spend millions of pounds for clinical trials required for medicinal products, that would take years to complete.

I am not sure what the answer is myself, I just believe that classification as a medecine is really going to far and that there must be some other more reasonable way to regulate what we are vaping.

E liquid manufacturers could for example, be required to have regular lab tests done on their products. Something like that would reassure vapers what they are vaping and I think that most companies would be willing to do that.

It would be seem to be much more useful if the government would come up with some directives and for example an approved list of required tests and labs to do such tests, than it would to kill the ecig industry, while the tobacco industry just continues as before.

[kate]

ECCA's response to the original question can be found here: www.eccauk.org/index.php/news-and-blog/parliamentary-question-on-e-cigarettes.html