1. Unfair Competition
Related Links:
ECigarette Direct Response to MHRA Proposal to Regulate Electronic Cigarettes as Medicines
Tobacco products are not currently regulated as medicines. E-Cigarettes are an alternative to smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes, delivering nicotine (which is a legally available drug) without tobacco.
Imposing more onerous regulation upon electronic cigarettes than on tobacco cigarettes would place the considerably more dangerous tobacco cigarettes at an unfair competitive advantage. In particular, as we below in point 7, we believe the proposed timeline for licensing (two weeks) to be unrealistic, especially as no guidelines for the licensing have yet been proposed. If regulation which we believe is unfair or unwarranted is imposed by the MHRA, or if - due to the time scale involved - we are forced out of business and out of competition with the tobacco industry, we will be presenting our case against the MHRA as a business with the EU via SOLVIT. We will also be seeking judicial review of the MHRA's decision.
1 House of Commons Select Committee The Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmhealth/42/42.pdf
E Cigarette Direct is the UK based online retailer of the NJOY electronic cigarette. E Cigarette Direct has a strong interest in promoting research into the electronic cigarette and tobacco harm reduction, and you can find interviews with doctors and scientists on its website as well as summaries of recent research.