There’s another story from New Zealand about the safety of electronic cigarettes, with the Health Ministry stating that the devices are far safer than regular cigarettes. So that’s it, they are going to be made legal. Oh no! You see, that makes smokers seem normal: Let’s summarise. Electronic cigarettes are vastly safer than cigarettes but [...]

On the Electronic Cigarette Forum Rolygate has given a good summary of the situation with electronic cigarette regulation so far. He argues that there is no need for additional regulation. I agree, as Trading Standards is doing a perfectly good job with companies that are based in the UK. Some companies get round regulations by [...]

What do New York and the UAE have in common? They are both planning to hand out the death sentence to large numbers of smokers. Estimates of the number of smokers killed by tobacco cigarettes vary between half and one-third of smokers. Yet scientists estimate that electronic cigarettes are between one hundred and one thousand [...]

In a fascinating new scientific discovery, ASH has found that the danger of some chemicals depends on who is making money out of them. For example, tiny traces of tobacco-specific-nitrosamines are absolutely harmless when used in products sold and promoted by ASH sponsors. Nicotine poses no danger when sold as a nicotine cessation product by [...]

Statements by the WHO/Anti-smoking organisations on the electronic cigarette from a conference in Uruagay appear to make little sense. Quit smoking aid? “The electronic cigarette is presented as an instrument certified to quit smoking but there is no scientific evidence to support this assertion,” said Eduardo Bianco. What we say (and other responsible suppliers) say [...]

Clear evidence from across the pond that anti-electronic cigarette propoganda is failing – badly. By 86.9%, to be exact! In the latest THR update from Godshall (see previous post) Godshall reports on a poll by the Annals of Internal Medicine. If you remember, the Annals published their opinion that electronic cigarettes were a bad idea. [...]

Yesterday we wrote about the GSK corruption reported in Panorama. (And in a comment John S alleged that the FDA is one of the most corrupt large government agencies in the world.) We also pointed out that the same pharmaceutical companies are funding the anti-smoking organisations who are against the e-cigarette, but who recommend expensive [...]

In a secret meeting MHRA recently voted to remove a drug which causes heart attacks in the UK. But  their decision was never made public – and its instructions are being ignored by British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline. Panorama last night revealed that Avandia, a drug which costs 20 times as much as older diabetes treatment, [...]

There’s an interesting post from the Tobacco Harm Reduction blog which points out the absurdity on banning something because it won’t be used. (See It’s more about options given than options taken.) The post follows an argument from Stanton Glantz that smokeless tobacco should be banned because it won’t become popular. (Stanton’s the one who [...]

The UK Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) has issued a withering criticism of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)’s consultation letter calling for the regulation of electronic cigarettes as a medicine, pointing out out that there is insufficient evidence that the electronic cigarette poses a risk to public health. The MHRA, while acknowledging the [...]