Who Needs Regulations?
Beginning today Chris Balme will be stopping by on occasion to share with our readers important articles concerning the e-Cigarette industry and the regulations thereof. We hope you enjoy Mr Balme’s work and we look forward to reading your responses below in the comment section. – Tom McBride – Managing Editor
Sometimes sticking with the status quo is healthy, or maximising the efficacy of something that is working well. Both of these techniques could be applied to the electronic cigarette industry that, according to recent research, provides products considered a ‘gold standard’ tobacco quitting aid. The successes of the industry could be galvanised and re-doubled so that they help even more people’s lives.
Unfortunately, this is not the stance that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), European Parliament and even the Mayor of New York are taking as they seek to regulate the market, its products and their efficacy as smoking cessation tools.
The MHRA and European Parliament have passed proposals that will see electronic cigarettes regulated as medicinal products from 2016, effectively removing them from the market and halting the high level of innovation that they have enjoyed over the past five years. Whilst their intentions may be to lessen the impact of inferior products; the move could lead to the entire industry stagnating and the people who rely on e cigs suffering.
The Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, is currently proposing changes to the manner in which electronic cigarettes are regulated. The proposals include regulating electronic cigarettes similarly to tobacco products and place similar restrictions upon them including bans on marketing and advertising, significantly reducing their exposure.
These proposals are being fought by a number of different pro-e cig bodies such as the Save E Cigs who are operating on behalf of the 7 million (and rising) vapers in the European Union. The core aim of the group is to persuade the European Parliament to reconsider their decision to regulate electronic cigarettes as medicinal products. The group demonstrates that the vast majority of e cig manufacturers and suppliers offer no guarantees to customers or make no false promises and simply market their vaping devices and accessories as consumer products.
One such supplier, TECC, have started their own campaign hoping to influence the European Parliament and MHRA to reconsider their proposal. As one of the oldest electronic cigarette companies in the United Kingdom, TECC have built up a devoted and loyal fanbase who are set to stand behind them. Both the Save E Cigs campaign and the active suppliers are trying to engage the vaping public to join the resistance in the hope that their success stories will be indicative of electronic cigarettes’ potential and efficacy, before regulation.
Research carried out with the funding of the New Zealand government has demonstrated how electronic cigarettes can help provide an alternative for smokers who are trying to reduce their tobacco use.
Chris Bullen of the National Institute for Health Innovation in Auckland measured three different groups of smokers given a different aid to help ease them off tobacco. The first group of 289 smokers were given electronic cigarettes, the second group of 295 participants were given nicotine patches and the 73-strong final group where given nicotine-free electronic cigarettes.
The first group proved to be the most successful with 7.3% of the group totally giving up smoking after the six month period. The second group recorded a quit rate of 5.8% and the third group registered 4% as quitting. Although the last group’s success stories do suggest that for some people, the lure of smoking is about the physical act as much as the ingestion of addictive properties. The former two figures indicate however, that patches are less effective in helping people reduce their tobacco intake than electronic cigarettes.
Furthermore, an amazing 88% of people in the research using e cigs would recommend them to a friend who was trying to reduce their tobacco intake. Surprisingly, the nicotine-free electronic cigarettes proved even more popular with 92% of the users saying that they would recommend them. Tellingly, only 56% of patch wearers would recommend them, suggesting that their trial was more of a tribulation.
This overwhelmingly supports the stance that electronic cigarettes are performing just fine without any disruptive regulations.
Chris Balme
About Chris Balme
Chris will be contributing to Spinfuel on a semi-regular basis. Using his contacts within E Cig Campaign Groups and E Cig Companies, he will bring Spinfuel eMagazine readers in-depth looks at the latest issues surrounding the vaping world. His articles will also contain ways in which you can help the wider vaping community.
