Viewpoints: should Australia lift its ban on e-cigarettes?
From: The Conversation
Ross MacKenzie, Lecturer in Health Studies at Macquarie University
The World Health Organisation has just released a report on electronic nicotine delivery systems that calls for their global regulation in the interests of public health. The most well-known such devices are electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes, which are currently banned in Australia.
In this Viewpoints, Wayne Hall calls for the ban to be lifted, while Ross MacKenzie presents the case for retaining it.
Wayne Hall: Australia has banned the sale of a potentially less harmful way of obtaining nicotine while allowing the most dangerous form – cigarettes – to continue to be sold in convenience stores.
Vapour from electronic delivery systems, or e-cigarettes as they’re popularly known, has been shown to contain fewer carcinogens and less particulate matter than smoked cigarettes.
E-cigarettes have been shown in a randomised controlled trial to have similar efficacy to nicotine replacement products when used as a quitting aid. They may also prove to be a safer longer-term alternative to smoking.
