WHO calls for tighter e-cig regulation until health data becomes available
Governments should be tougher on the e-cigarette industry, banning indoor use and selling to under 18s, as a precautionary measure until more research is available on the products, according to The World Health Organisation (WHO).
e-cigarettes are used by smokers trying to quit their addiction
The United Nations health agency said that the nicotine-vaporising products may prove addictive and could be gateway items introducing kids to nicotine addiction.
E-cigarettes, which come in many flavours, can allegedly widen the appeal of tobacco to non-smokers. Additionally, the tobacco industry has been buying up major shares of e-cig companies.
The report agreed that although the product is less harmful than cigarettes it is yet to be proven that they are a health product.
The report, released by WHO, said: "[Regulation] is a necessary precondition for establishing a scientific basis on which to judge the effects of their use, and for ensuring that adequate research is conducted and the public health is protected and people made aware of the potential risks and benefits.”
The recommendations made in the report, started in 2012, were intended to control the advertising and sale of e-cigs until more definitive data emerges on their addictiveness – and their effect on children and pregnant mothers.
Dr. Douglas Bettcher, director of WHO's department for prevention of non-communicable diseases, said: “E-cigarettes are a story of both risks and promises. In a sense they are a double-edged sword.
“The tobacco industry is taking greater share - as public health partners pretending to be part of the solution to the health disaster they have created.”
A spokesman for the British American Tobacco company said: "We have always said that given nicotine is addictive, minimum age laws of 18 for the sale of e-cigarettes should be introduced.
"However, if overly restrictive regulations are introduced hampering innovation or adult usage, then this could simply stifle the growth of new products and prevent smokers from being aware of and having access to them - this can only be bad thing for public health."
This comes after the ASA earlier this month banned a ‘Love Your Lungs’ Leolite e-cig advert on the grounds that it implied it was a healthy product for users.