WHO urged not to “control and suppress e-cigs”
Over 50 researchers and public health specialists have signed a letter urging the World Health Organisation to refrain from ‘controlling and suppressing’ e-cigarettes.
The letter states that e-cigarettes are “among the most significant health innovations of the 21st century” and that they should not face the same regulations as conventional cigarettes.
“If regulators treat low-risk nicotine products as traditional tobacco products … they are improperly defining them as part of the problem. Regulators should avoid support for measures that could have the perverse effect of prolonging cigarette consumption," it reads.
WHO is set to offer recommendations about e-cigarettes to governments later this year.
However, the letter came as a result of a leaked document from WHO which labelled e-cigarettes as a "threat".
Earlier this year, the first adverts for e-cigarettes appeared on TV screens, with Rory Sutherland, vice chairman, Ogilvy & Mather UK discussing with The Drum the impact they have thus-far had on the industry.