Finally! A common sense appeal from medical professionals - Montreal Gazette

[Tache]

Opinion: It

 

[Kent C]

Good piece. Thanks for posting. One disagreement:

"There is a moral and ethical duty to provide these products to addicted smokers."

I'd edit with "There is a moral and ethical duty to leave them alone."

It is not moral to make someone else provide others with something. That is just theft - the opposite of 'moral' and 'ethical'.

 

[Katya]

Very nicely put! Thanks, Tache, for sharing!

 

[Anjaffm]

(thank you for sharing, I had just found and posted the same article. I will ask for my thread to be deleted, yours was first)

Here is what I say to that excellent opinion by medical doctors.
(Medical doctors - and not engineers turned tobacco Control Industry spokespersons....)

Here is a great article / opinion from Canada, by several medical doctors.

Opinion: It’s time to authorize the sale of electronic
cigarettes

Conventional preventive measures focus entirely on preventing uptake of
smoking and helping smokers to quit smoking.

This approach will be ineffective for the millions of smokers who, despite
best efforts to persuade and help them to quit, will carry on smoking.

tobacco-control policy needs to be radically extended to address the needs of
these smokers with implementation of effective harm reduction strategies.

Harm reduction in smoking can be achieved by providing smokers with safer sources of nicotine that are acceptable, and effective cigarette substitutes.

There is a moral and ethical duty to provide these products to addicted
smokers.

Electronic cigarettes are such a substitute

...
The death rates from continued smoking are simply too high to accept a
continued nicotine-abstinence policy orientation

This is a very sensible opinion (the entire article is).
AND it is perfect to counter the "moral" blathering of those Tobacco Control Industry members (ANTZ) whose "morals" include condemning millions of current smokers to exactly the premature death that they always mention in their "quit or die" propaganda.

 

[Anjaffm]

@Kent C:
I think the "provide" refers to Canada. There, e-cig liquid with nicotine is banned.

 

[Spazmelda]

Very nice. I think I agree with the moral and ethical duty line, depending on what is meant by provide. If it means 'to legally allow nicotine containing ecigs on the market' then I totally agree. If a lower risk alternative exists, I do believe it is morally and ethically unacceptable to keep it from people or to misrepresent the potential risks relative to tobacco smoke. I didn't get the sense that the article was advocating making ecig companies give away their products for free.

 

[Kent C]

@Kent C:
I think the "provide" refers to Canada. There, e-cig liquid with nicotine is banned.

I did consider that. I could be wrong. Other wording would have been clearer. Canada 'provides' health care in a way that is consistent with my take. They also provide needles for addicts. And more to the issue - free nicotine gum and patches (and counseling) for smokers:

http://news.sympatico.cbc.ca/health/free_nicotine_patches_gum_for_addicts/9719fe10

 

[sonicdsl]

FWIW, nicotine liquid/ecigs is not technically banned in Canada. HC just wants the Canadians to all think it is. There was a show awhile back where an expert was discussing the actual law they try to bend about that issue. Can't recall now where I saw it though.

 

[rothenbj]

FWIW, nicotine liquid/ecigs is not technically banned in Canada. HC just wants the Canadians to all think it is. There was a show awhile back where an expert was discussing the actual law they try to bend about that issue. Can't recall now where I saw it though.

That's correct. The Health Department keeps sending out threatening letters to vape shops but there's no law behind the threats.

 

[Anjaffm]

FWIW, nicotine liquid/ecigs is not technically banned in Canada. HC just wants the Canadians to all think it is. There was a show awhile back where an expert was discussing the actual law they try to bend about that issue. Can't recall now where I saw it though.

Oh really! Thank you for the clarification!
Good example on how misinformation works. I am in Germany and thought for a fact that e-liquid with nicotine is banned in Canada.
Thank you for clearing up this misconception.

 

[XxBLUExX]

It's hard to come by here. You can get disposable e-cigs for about 9$ with no nic content or find a b&m for your needs if you have one around you but you're not guaranteed nic liquid. I'm not sure about the other provinces but this is my experience in Ontario.

 

[rothenbj]

It's hard to come by here. You can get disposable e-cigs for about 9$ with no nic content or find a b&m for your needs if you have one around you but you're not guaranteed nic liquid. I'm not sure about the other provinces but this is my experience in Ontario.

The Health Department has scared many from providing. I know there was a thread or a story some time back where the situation was explained from the vendor's standpoint. If I remember correctly, they included a copy of the letter they received. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[rothenbj]

This may be the article I read. I thought there was a copy of the Health Canada letter, but maybe not.

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/02/25/rowan-warr-hunter-e-cigarettes-freedom-to-vape/