Missing the vaping opportunity

Vaping is a zero-cost, consumer-driven weapon in the fight against tobacco smoking that should get public health regulators excited, says Marc Michelsen, senior vice president for corporate affairs and communications at Fontem Ventures, a subsidiary of tobacco company Imperial Tobacco involved in electronic cigarettes. Instead, the EU had adopted legislation that severely limited advertising for vaping, he added in an opinion piece published on euractiv.com.

Indeed, in a lengthy piece in which he concedes that certain aspects of regulation are pragmatic and commendable, Michelsen goes on to say that in both the US and Europe, governments cannot seem to accept that the solution to one of the world’s gravest health challenges might be right in front of them.

Michelsen likened the consequences of the legislative frameworks created in both Europe and America to not just missing an open goal, but kicking the ball out of the stadium. ‘Instead of encouraging the development of the whole category, governments are putting up roadblocks,’ he wrote. ‘Instead of saying “This is great, we want to work with you,” governments react with fear and caution. Instead of sending a positive message to vapers, most of whom wholeheartedly want to stop or reduce tobacco [use], governments on both sides of the Atlantic continue to confuse them with mixed messages and, by default, imply that tobacco is in some way preferable.’

The story is at: http://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/opinion/regulators-should-encourage-vaping-not-fight-it/