Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first authorized the legal sale of e-cigarettes in the United States in October, more and more began to adjust policies to promote the legalization and standardization of the development of e-cigarettes
The most obvious move is the Southeast Asian country Malaysia. Due to the nicotine content, e-cigarettes have been regulated as drugs in Malaysia. But in October this year, Malaysian Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz stated when submitting the 2022 budget that the government plans to impose a consumption tax on e-cigarettes. This is seen as an important signal for Malaysia to lift the ban on e-cigarettes.
Thailand, Egypt, and other countries are also changing their attitudes towards e-cigarettes. On October 25, according to the Middle East Cross-border E-commerce Exchange, Egypt has abolished the e-cigarette ban imposed since 2015. Also in October, Thai politician and Minister of Digital Economy and Society Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn stated that he was exploring ways to legalize e-cigarettes.
What makes these countries uncharacteristically? Let’s first look at the United States, which “gave the green light for e-cigarettes”
On October 12, the FDA passed the PMTA (Premarket Tobacco Application) review of three e-cigarette products for the first time, because “there is data to prove that these three products are more likely to be used by smokers to reduce their exposure to tobacco harm. risk”. In other words, the FDA believes that these three e-cigarette products can help smokers reduce the harm after they have been tested.
E-cigarettes are also proven to assist in smoking cessation. The latest “Report on the Scientific Basis of Tobacco Product Control: The Eighth Report of the WHO Research Group” published on the official website of the World Health Organization (WHO) pointed out that in some cases, e-cigarettes can help some smokers quit smoking and have a positive impact on public health. The continuously updated authoritative research conclusions have become the scientific basis for the country to adjust e-cigarette regulatory policies.
In addition, there are voices from the public. According to media reports, the results of a national public opinion survey in Malaysia showed that 58% of the respondents agreed that e-cigarettes have the harm reduction effect, and 51% of the respondents said that among all smoking cessation methods, using e-cigarettes to assist smoking cessation is the most practical and the most practical. Safety. Up to now, Malaysia has more than 1 million e-cigarette users.
In fact, countries around the world have seen the great potential of e-cigarettes in reducing smoking rates. The United Kingdom and New Zealand have also adopted e-cigarettes as official smoking cessation tools.
New Zealand, located in Oceania, issued a regulatory plan for e-cigarettes as early as 2018 to support smokers to switch to e-cigarettes. Recently, in order to popularize e-cigarettes to the public, the New Zealand Health Promotion Agency has also set up a channel dedicated to e-cigarette truth, clearly stating that “e-cigarettes are much less harmful than smoking” and “e-cigarettes can help some people quit smoking.”
Statistics show that in the UK, which first recognized the effectiveness of e-cigarettes in assisting smoking cessation, the national smoking rate has plummeted from 21% in 2011 to 15% in 2020. On October 29th, the United Kingdom, which tasted the sweetness, once again set an example-to “include e-cigarettes” in medical insurance. The British National Health Service (NHS) stated that it will use e-cigarettes as prescription drugs to help smokers quit smoking. This means that the UK will become the first country in the world to grant medical product licenses for e-cigarettes.
With the emergence of more authoritative scientific research conclusions about e-cigarettes, the global e-cigarette regulatory situation is becoming increasingly clear. “E-cigarettes should not be regulated in the same way as cigarettes. E-cigarettes can be regarded as an opportunity for tobacco control to finally realize the new era’ of a smoke-free future.” The latest report of the WHO Tobacco Group.
Article source: Jiangsu Commercial Daily
