Comments on: UK Government: Electronic Cigarettes Save Lives & Money

By: admin

admin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 07:24:33 +0000

Hi Louis, thanks for your comments. It seems like you can now use nicotine as you wish, rather than because of addiction, which is a great achievement.

I think there are vested interests which are threatened by the success of the electronic cigarette. Hopefully, the popularity of the device combined with a growing understanding of its benefits will stop those vested interests from banning it!

By: Louis

Louis — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 07:03:57 +0000

I stopped 4 months ago using E Cigs, whereas before numerous attempts failed. I still use E Cigs but not much – an occasional couple of puffs. One day I easily went a whole day without even this, thus I do not think E Cigs are especially addictive. And Nicotine is a close relative of vitamin B3, itself used in many medicines, and thereby often medically beneficial. Its also present in vegetables, etc. There are other factors. I consider the Government the biggest Drug Dealer in the UK due to Taxes on tobacco and booze. Financially far greater as regards benefit than Heroin or Cocainne dealers. So we have the NHS trying to stop smoking whereas their superiors are directly involved in wishing there were more to increase “profits”. Then we have the vested interests of the Pharms – often closely linked to the NHS. Its no surprise the latter prefer conventional NRT rather than E Cigs. E Cigs threaten the Nicorettes of this world. Finally the red herring about costs of treating smokers in the NHS. Each smoker who dies early is effectively a saving for the NHS. Each pensioner who dies early due to smoking saves a lot in State Pension and probably Benefits. I suspect Duty from tobacco more than compensates the NHS for costs of smoking disease treatment. There is a lot of politics here,much being hidden. And I understand still 20 percent of NHS staff smoke. I am glad to have stopped the wretched habit.

By: admin

admin — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 07:19:32 +0000

It’s shocking. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be happening about it!

By: David

David — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 22:26:20 +0000

I have made my own formal and polite response to Helen Wale, I have also alerted the Electronic Cigarette Company of this letter.

I find it disgraceful that the MHRA consultation has been a joke, and that there are moves to ban electronic cigarettes. As a user myself I would be outraged to see an avenue of nicotine use denied to users of electronic cigarettes. I will not be pushed back into the ghetto of smoking tobacco and feel it is a moral right to make the choice as to what chemicals I put into my body.

By: » Leaked Letter: MHRA decision made before consultation - Ashtray Blog: An Electronic Cigarette Blog

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 18:16:25 +0000

[...] I must admit, I am completely and utterly shocked by this letter. Not only does the letter suggest that the consultation has been a sham, but also that the MHRA plans to deliberately force UK traders out of existence by making a licensing procedure both expensive and complicated. And this is the same MHRA which admitted in their consultation document that electronic cigarettes could save hundreds of lives a year! [...]

By: westcoast2

westcoast2 — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:44:32 +0000

It is not regulation, it is the type of regulation that is of concern.

At the start you say "non-regulated nicotine products such as the electronic cigarette save lives"

E-cigarettes are Regulated. A number of regulations are in place already under consumer law. To give the impression that these products are unregulated (as option 3 in the MHRA consultation says) is not strctly true.

The issue here is whether the e-cig comes under medicinal regulation or remains under consumer regulation.

Regulation for safety and quality are fine. The ones in place may need fine tuning or a new category for e-cigs may need to be created but regulating as a medicine is a completly different thing.
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