First of all, e-cigarettes have NOT been banned in the United Kingdom. So, that is false.
Second, it is known that
tobacco smoking causes serious illness and disease, but after 7 YEARS on the world market, no serious illness or injury has been linked to e-cigarette use. If they are so dangerous, why are nearly all of the users of e-cigarettes reporting IMPROVED health? Why attempt to ban a product that consumers like and has shown not to harm anyone in real-world trials by hundreds of thousands of users?
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abd. Rashid Shirlin, said: "ENDS might be used to perpetuate smoking by sustaining nicotine dependence in environments where smoking is prohibited."
Does the Deputy Minister not realize that pharmaceutical nicotine gums, lozenges and patches are used for the same reason? Yet, those products have less than 7% success rate in helping people quit smoking - 97% of people go back to dangerous smoking. However, e-cigarette user surveys report 65-85% quit success. Quitting smoking does not mean having to cure the nicotine addiction.
Nicotine use is relatively safe if there is no smoke. You can quit smoking and still use nicotine. WHO and other public health groups only insist on quitting nicotine, so they claim that means e-cigarettes haven't been shown to help people quit. This is misleading. The only reason an e-cigarette user would return to smoking is if the Ministry bans e-cigarettes and people are forced to go back to using gums and patches to quit. Then, as studies have shown, 97% will return to smoking cigarettes. Is that the goal? To keep people smoking?
E-cigarettes aren't meant to be healthy, just better than smoking. They are not recommended for non-smokers - just smokers who want to reduce their risks but still want the nicotine and to "feel" like they are smoking. It's caused "reduced harm." It's the same as using seatbelts in cars - they won't make driving 100% safe, but they can make them safer.
It makes no
sense to ban a product which has no complaints and contains none of the smoke-related toxins and carcinogens that tobacco cigarettes produce - especially when those cigarettes remain legal and they are known killers.
