Ban or Restrict? Quandary Facing Governments as Vaping Entices Teens Worldwide

By Ulysses DorotheoBANGKOK, Thailand, Jan 26 2024 (IPS) A hot debate on electronic smoking devices is expected to engage governments, scheduled to meet in Panama from 5-10 February for the tenth session of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The WHO FCTC, the first health treaty, was developed to address the global tobacco epidemic and to ensure that governments are supported in implementing comprehensive and effective tobacco control strategies. Earlier in 2016, the governments during COP8 made a decision to either prohibit or restrict the manufacture, importation, distribution, presentation, sale and use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (e-cigarettes). Since then, more than 45 countries and jurisdictions have banned e-cigarettes as a precautionary principle (Figure 1). Figure 1: Countries that have banned e-cigarettes Electronic smoking devices (ESDs), which include e-cigarettes (or vape products) and heated tobacco products (HTPs), has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry estimated to be worth about USD 18 billion in 2022 to about USD 46 billion by 2030. While the tobacco and vape industries claim these devices are safer than traditional cigarettes and can be used by smokers to quit, no country has approved them as cessation tools. ESDs cannot help smoking cessation as studies show the nicotine in ESDs keeps its users addicted to tobacco products, and most smokers who took up ESDs to quit smoking ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Featured Global Headlines Health Human Rights IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse TerraViva United Nations IPS UN Bureau Source Type: news