Chile’s Health Ministry Seeks To Prohibit Electronic Cigarettes

[Vocalek]

Bill Godshall tipped us to this story

Chile?s Health Ministry Seeks To Prohibit Electronic Cigarettes

I wrote to the editor whose email address was given at the end of the story. The subject line read "Misplaced Public Health Concern."

In the 24 May 2010 story, "Chile’s Health Ministry Seeks To Prohibit Electronic Cigarettes," the Chilean Health Minister is quoted: “The law will help us further control tobacco consumption and make a real impact on the health of Chileans,” said Mañalich, later affirming that the cigarettes “are actually not a healthy alternative to stop nicotine addiction."

Does Sr. Mañalich have evidence of this? Or his is simply relying on the American press for his information? Yes, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it found "carcinogens" in the electronic cigarette cartridges tested. However, FDA did not tell the whole truth. The agency forgot to mention the fact that the FDA-approved nicotine replacement products contain the same carcinogens in roughly the same quantity!

So how is a ban on electronic cigarettes, which deliver only vaporized nicotine, helping to control tobacco consumption? The answer is, "it isn't". Doesn't Sr. Mañalich realize that the 18,000 electronic cigarette consumers who are are still addicted to nicotine will need to find another source if electronic cigarettes are banned? Doesn't he realize that the most likely source will be to go back to lighting up tubes of tobacco and inhaling the smoke?

So far there have been three published surveys of electronic cigarette users, asking them what effect using the products have had on their health. Here is a tyical result:

"All respondents previously smoked and 91% had attempted to stop smoking before trying ecigarettes. Most respondents resided in the USA (72%) and 21% were in Europe. About half (55%) were 31-50, while 32% were >50 years old. Most (79%) of the respondents had been using e-cigarettes for <6 months and reported using them as a complete (79%) or partial (17%) replacement for, rather than in addition to (4%), cigarettes. The majority of respondents reported that their general health (91%), smoker's cough (97%), ability to exercise (84%), and sense of smell (80%) and taste (73%) were better since using e-cigarettes and none reported that these were worse. Although people whose e-cigarette use completely replaced smoking were more likely to experience improvements in health and smoking caused symptoms, most people who substituted e-cigarettes for even some of their cigarettes experienced improvements." -- From Chapter 19 of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2010 Yearbook)
http://tobaccoharmreduction.org/thr2010yearbook.htm

Why is Sr. Mañalich so concerned about the fact that electronic cigarette users are still addicted to nicotine, when nicotine does not cause the smoking-related lung, heart, and cancer diseases? These are all caused by other elements in the smoke. Why isn't Sr. Mañalich more focused in the fact that the electronic cigarette users are experiencing as much improvement in their lung health as any person who stopped inhaling tobacco smoke by becoming abstinent from nicotine?

Why is Sr. Mañalich more concerned about his moralistic addiction agenda than he is concerned about lung disease, heart disease, and cancer?

 

[Tom09]

Nice mail, Vocalek. Let’s hope that it may help someone in the Chilean media to question what this Health Minister [sic] is feeding them.

The original journal article reporting on this ban (El Mercurio, May 23, 2010; Spanish / English Translation) further states:

“... la autoridad prepara un reglamento para prohibir su importación y uso en el país.”
“... the authority is preparing a regulation to ban the import and use in the country.”

Accordingly, the intended regulation is not only about to prohibit marketing, but about to prohibit use. Again, if that newspaper's report is true, the distinguished Jaime Mañalich is even so pathetic to criminalize the user.

 

[D103]

Better to ask the Chilean Health Minister the following:
- Would Chile's Federal Government, in the Public interest of transparency and in the
spirit of America's "Freedom of Information" law, be willing to make public all
correspondence with American Tobacco Companies, including e-mails, letters,
phone calls, agreements, proposals, contracts, incentives, profit options, etc.
over the past four years?
- Would Chile's Government publicly disclose the annual economic profits made,
including tax revenues, for cigarette/tobacco consumption for the past four years?
- Would Chile's Health Ministry publicly disclose what, if any, science-based information
it is utilizing in making its decision to ban the electronic cigarette technology,
including reliability studies, evidence of proven harm and/or injury directly related to
the technology, any etiological studies linking this technology to currently known
disease(s) ?
- Would the Chilean Government be willing to publicly disclose ALL correspondence with
the FDA over the past four years related to cigarette smoking, tobacco use in general,
electronic cigarettes and the technology?
- Would the Chilean Health Ministry be willing to publicly disclose ALL correspondence
(e-mails, letters, phone calls, agreements, contracts, incentives, profit options,
etc.) with ALL U.S. Pharmaceutical companies over the past four years as it relates to
cigarette/cigar/pipe smoking, tobacco use in general, smoking cessation products,
and electronic cigarettes and the technology as a whole?

 

[t9c]

And now the Chilean govt is planning to ban the e-cig using more misinformation and lies, particularly the amt of nicotine in an e-cig compared to a cigarette - 34mg / 1-2mg.

According to Health Minister Jaime Mañalich, while a traditional cigarette contains one to two milligrams of nicotine, the electronic cigarette contains 34 mg, i.e. a lethal dose. He adds that: “The electronic cigarette and other forms of smoking cessation products delivers large doses of nicotine with a very high risk of addiction.”

Chile prepares new rule to prohibit sale of electronic cigarettes | Nicotine Times

 

[Lil' Lou]

What an absurd statement - I left the following comment (needs to be approved by a moderator, so we'll see)

If an e-cig contains a ‘lethal’ dose of nicotine, where are all the news stories about folks who have been killed over the past 7 years since these were introduced to the market?

 

[Tom09]

one year later

Embassy of Chile in Germany, public anouncement (May 2011): Chile, firm against tobacco

As part of “World No Tobacco Day”, celebrated on May 31, the Vice President of Chile, Rodrigo Hinzpeter along with the Health Minister, Jaime Mañalich, and Economy Minister, Juan Andrés Fontaine, announced that a bill had been sent to Congress to toughen current provisions on tobacco in Chile. If the bill is passed, it will ban smoking in stadiums and all enclosed public spaces, including bars, restaurants, nightclubs and offices. It will also prevent the sale of prepared tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and nicotine gum, among other measures.
The Health Minister highlighted that with this bill “we are making every effort to advance with the health agenda defined by the President of Chile which intends, among other things, to put an end to the label that Chile is the country with the greatest number of smokers in the entire American continent, with more than 15,000 tobacco related deaths, not including passive smokers.”

TC logic™: prevent the sale of electronic cigarettes to reduce smoking and tobacco related deaths.

 

[Vap0rJay]

one year later

Embassy of Chile in Germany, public anouncement (May 2011): Chile, firm against tobacco



TC logic™: prevent the sale of electronic cigarettes to reduce smoking and tobacco related deaths.

"It will also prevent the sale of prepared tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and nicotine gum, among other measures."
Translation: Start practicing your tobacco leaf nicotine extraction techniques now.

If you prepare it yourself... *shrugs*

 

[James Wall]

Interesting that they are also looking to ban "prepared tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and nicotine gum". The part about the gum tells me they are in BT's pockets instead of BP's. I wonder if Chile is a major tobacco producer?

 

[Tom09]

Interesting that they are also looking to ban "prepared tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and nicotine gum". The part about the gum tells me they are in BT's pockets instead of BP's. I wonder if Chile is a major tobacco producer?

I would think that the mentioned bill is drafted along the lines of TobReg/WHO/FCTC recommendations and that nicotine gum ended up by accident in this announcement (expect ban to hit non-approved products). But needs an original source to the actual measure.

 

[Ande]

Here we go again-

Corruption is everywhere, of course- but in Latin America, it gets to move faster.

If anyone involved in this needs help getting Spanish into English, or vice versa, drop me a line...

Ande