Ministry to check with public on e-cigarette bar
Although the utilization of electronic cigarettes – with or without nicotine – is restricted in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand, limited in the UK, Finland, Malaysia and Singapore and is soon to be barred in New York State and Russia – the Health Ministry in Jerusalem is now asking the public its view on the solution.
While a ministry committee has proposed that the marketing, import and use of e-cigarettes be prohibited for five years, after which the question would be examined, the ministry has decided to make a decision on e-cigs only after consulting with the general public.
“Russia has also prohibited all advertising, which has not happened in Israel because [of] the powerful tobacco lobby. Based on a new survey, two-thirds of Israelis are exposed to cigarette smoke against their will, in comparison to only 10% of Canadians.”
Hausner, legal counsel who has struggled cigarettes for decades, said that the “Israeli hesitation on e-cigs is not a good thing.
The product has penetrated the market with claims it is less hazardous than cigarettes and also beneficial‚ but-its short- and long-term effects have not yet been examined. The federal government is gambling on the long run.
“They can be purchased in shops or via the Internet, taking advantage of the truth that they've never been examined in depth,” it added.
Consequently, restrictions in lots of countries have not yet been set down, unlike those referring to purchase and where smoking continues to be permitted, tobacco products, their use.
Asked by The Jerusalem Post to discuss the ministry record, Israel Council for the Prevention of Smoking chairman Amos Hausner stated that “Russia has just shown determination to totally stop use of all kinds of e-cig. This shift was rewarded at the recent discussion of the Harvard School of Public Health that I simply attended.
The ministry noted that although e-cigs are generally sold in Israel, they have never received the required ministry approval, and “there is no guidance of their material and [of] the potential health risks of the products.
“E-cigs are presented in a deceptive way, as a supposed safe alternative to standard cigarettes and a supposed means to help people kick the habit,” the ministry said.
“Every medication that reaches the human digestive tract, for instance, must pass fundamental investigations before qualifying. This [product] requires smoke or steam passing directly into the respiratory system – a great deal more vulnerable and less protected from danger than these substances and the digestive system – flow directly into the brain.”
The ministry said on Thursday that lately, e-cigs – first available abroad in 2004 – have become extremely popular among smokers and former smokers. The electronics run using batteries, produce steam that inhaled and is looks like smoke, use options with odor and taste, and some include addictive nicotine.
The national council chairman continued that “millions and even billions of dollars are used in to the research of the effects of medications and [many of these] are prohibited from sale after years of use, when their long-term effects on individuals are found to be dangerous.
Here we've an item after inexpensive growth that has not been examined for their effects at all,” Hausner concluded.
In 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a significant warning against e-cigs, because they weren't which can help in stopping smoking and because numerous models were found to contain carcinogenic chemicals.
The ministry committee therefore suggested the prohibition of the manufacture, transfer and advertising of e-cigarettes in Israel and that the problem be evaluated after five years of prohibition. Alternatively, the ministry could opt to regard e-cigs as tobacco products and require them to meet all restrictions that exist on cigarettes created from tobacco, including the prohibition of smoking them in public places.
In the meantime, the ministry said it would proceed to “follow scientific developments around the world about the challenges, or safety, of the use of their efficacy, and e-cigs, or lack of it, in halting smoking,” and then would decide what direction to go.
The ministry here has issued warnings against the use of ecigs, but nevertheless, their sale, advertising and use have skyrocketed. In 2010, the ministry chose to include, within the health services basket, numerous drugs and other proven technologies to assist smokers quit, and these did not include e-cigs.
The ministry said that children are also with them, and that a black-market of e-cigs containing psycho-active substances that affect mental performance has arisen.
Consequently, the ministry this past year put up a multidisciplinary committee to investigate the topic from all angles. It's not yet issued a study, but stated that the committee “has great doubts about the safety, effectiveness and faculties of good use, thus there is doubt about their safety – whether they contain nicotine or not.”
The committee also decided that there's no scientific proof that e-cigs are effective in stopping smoking, or that their “steam” doesn't show bystanders to health dangers against their will, the ministry said.
Because of this, the ministry has made a decision to solicit public opinions of the problem via the web site www.shituf.gov.il until March 25, 2013. It will announce its decision on the summer.
Although the utilization of electronic cigarettes – with or without nicotine – is restricted in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand, limited in the UK, Finland, Malaysia and Singapore and is soon to be barred in New York State and Russia – the Health Ministry in Jerusalem is now asking the public its view on the solution.
While a ministry committee has proposed that the marketing, import and use of e-cigarettes be prohibited for five years, after which the question would be examined, the ministry has decided to make a decision on e-cigs only after consulting with the general public.
“Russia has also prohibited all advertising, which has not happened in Israel because [of] the powerful tobacco lobby. Based on a new survey, two-thirds of Israelis are exposed to cigarette smoke against their will, in comparison to only 10% of Canadians.”
Hausner, legal counsel who has struggled cigarettes for decades, said that the “Israeli hesitation on e-cigs is not a good thing.
The product has penetrated the market with claims it is less hazardous than cigarettes and also beneficial‚ but-its short- and long-term effects have not yet been examined. The federal government is gambling on the long run.
“They can be purchased in shops or via the Internet, taking advantage of the truth that they've never been examined in depth,” it added.
Consequently, restrictions in lots of countries have not yet been set down, unlike those referring to purchase and where smoking continues to be permitted, tobacco products, their use.
Asked by The Jerusalem Post to discuss the ministry record, Israel Council for the Prevention of Smoking chairman Amos Hausner stated that “Russia has just shown determination to totally stop use of all kinds of e-cig. This shift was rewarded at the recent discussion of the Harvard School of Public Health that I simply attended.
The ministry noted that although e-cigs are generally sold in Israel, they have never received the required ministry approval, and “there is no guidance of their material and [of] the potential health risks of the products.
“E-cigs are presented in a deceptive way, as a supposed safe alternative to standard cigarettes and a supposed means to help people kick the habit,” the ministry said.
“Every medication that reaches the human digestive tract, for instance, must pass fundamental investigations before qualifying. This [product] requires smoke or steam passing directly into the respiratory system – a great deal more vulnerable and less protected from danger than these substances and the digestive system – flow directly into the brain.”
The ministry said on Thursday that lately, e-cigs – first available abroad in 2004 – have become extremely popular among smokers and former smokers. The electronics run using batteries, produce steam that inhaled and is looks like smoke, use options with odor and taste, and some include addictive nicotine.
The national council chairman continued that “millions and even billions of dollars are used in to the research of the effects of medications and [many of these] are prohibited from sale after years of use, when their long-term effects on individuals are found to be dangerous.
Here we've an item after inexpensive growth that has not been examined for their effects at all,” Hausner concluded.
In 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a significant warning against e-cigs, because they weren't which can help in stopping smoking and because numerous models were found to contain carcinogenic chemicals.
The ministry committee therefore suggested the prohibition of the manufacture, transfer and advertising of e-cigarettes in Israel and that the problem be evaluated after five years of prohibition. Alternatively, the ministry could opt to regard e-cigs as tobacco products and require them to meet all restrictions that exist on cigarettes created from tobacco, including the prohibition of smoking them in public places.
In the meantime, the ministry said it would proceed to “follow scientific developments around the world about the challenges, or safety, of the use of their efficacy, and e-cigs, or lack of it, in halting smoking,” and then would decide what direction to go.
The ministry here has issued warnings against the use of ecigs, but nevertheless, their sale, advertising and use have skyrocketed. In 2010, the ministry chose to include, within the health services basket, numerous drugs and other proven technologies to assist smokers quit, and these did not include e-cigs.
The ministry said that children are also with them, and that a black-market of e-cigs containing psycho-active substances that affect mental performance has arisen.
Consequently, the ministry this past year put up a multidisciplinary committee to investigate the topic from all angles. It's not yet issued a study, but stated that the committee “has great doubts about the safety, effectiveness and faculties of good use, thus there is doubt about their safety – whether they contain nicotine or not.”
The committee also decided that there's no scientific proof that e-cigs are effective in stopping smoking, or that their “steam” doesn't show bystanders to health dangers against their will, the ministry said.
Because of this, the ministry has made a decision to solicit public opinions of the problem via the web site www.shituf.gov.il until March 25, 2013. It will announce its decision on the summer.