This information held in this article is incorrect.

It states ” The compromise stipulates that e cigarettes will be considered like regular tobacco products if they contain nicotine in a concentration of more than 20 mg/ml.”

In actual fact it states only Ecigarettes of 20mg/ml and below will be allowed on the market and will be treated like tobacco but with more severe restraints on the ability to speak about them. In actual fact the proposal directly denies the freedom of speech on them in as much as all forms of communication whether public or private, industry led or consumer led will be prohibited by law if it speaks favourably about them.

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5. Member States shall ensure that

a) commercial communications with the aim or direct or indirect effect of promoting electronic cigarettes and refill containers are prohibited in information society services as defined in Article 1(2) of Directive 98/48/EC, in the press and other printed publications, with the exception of publications that are intended exclusively for professionals in the trade of the products and for publications which are printed and published in third countries, where those publications are not principally intended for the European Union market

b) commercial communications with the aim or direct or indirect effect of promoting electronic cigarettes and refill containers are prohibited in the radio

c) any form of public or private contribution to radio programmes with the aim or direct or indirect effect of promoting electronic cigarettes and refill containers is prohibited

d) any form of public or private contribution to any event, activity or individual with the aim or direct or indirect effect of promoting electronic cigarettes and refill containers and involving or taking place in several Member States or otherwise having cross border effects is prohibited

e) audiovisual commercial communications falling under Directive 2010/13/EU are prohibited for electronic cigarettes and refill containers

f) cross border distance sales of electronic cigarettes and refill containers are regulated in accordance with Article 16.

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In allowing freedom of speech on virtually every substance, political opinion and activity known to man, we are able to promote democracy, freedom and equal rights to all.

By denying that right to anyone who uses or advocates using Electronic cigarettes which have not harmed a single human being and are regarded by many public health advocates as a potential public health game changer the EU is denying the human rights of millions of European citizens.

Anyone who supports this is selling human rights to freedom of speech down the river.

E-cigarettes could save lives, european conference told – ny daily news

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Switching to e cigarettes could save millions of smokers’ lives, a conference on the rapidly expanding use of the devices heard Tuesday, though some delegates warned more research on the health effects is needed.

The merits of e cigarettes were thrashed out at a one day gathering of scientists, experts, policymakers and industry figures at the Royal Society in London.

The use of electronic cigarettes pen sized battery powered devices that simulate smoking by heating and vaporizing a liquid solution containing nicotine has grown rapidly.

Sales have doubled annually for the last four years and there are an estimated seven million users across Europe.

Many delegates merrily “vaped” away throughout the conference sessions, including one man with a luxuriant moustache puffing away on an e pipe.

“Cigarettes are killing 5.4 million people per year in the world,” said Robert West, a health psychology professor and the director of tobacco studies at Cancer Research UK.

He said switching to e cigarettes could save millions of lives, but the debate was about “whether that goal can be realized and how best to do it”.

The professor said almost a third of attempts to quit smoking involved e cigarettes.

Doctor Jacques Le Houezec, a consultant in public health and tobacco dependence from France, told delegates that while e cigarettes contained some harmful substances, the levels of toxicants were nine to 450 times lower than in cigarette smoke.

He said the exponential growth of e cigarettes was being led by smokers, not scientists.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the Action on Smoking and Heath (ASH) pressure group, said e cigarettes could be a leap forward for public health but warned that not enough was known about their effects and pointed out that the tobacco companies are snapping up the e cigarette manufacturers.

“ASH thinks that e cigarettes have significant potential. They are a lot less harmful than smoking. Clearly smokers find them attractive, primarily as a way of quitting and moving away from smoking, which they know will kill them,” she told AFP.

“But at the moment I think the jury’s out and these products need regulating because there’s a real concern that their safety and effectiveness is not guaranteed without regulation.

“The tobacco companies are moving in. For them it’s potentially a ‘Kodak moment’ because if everyone moved to e cigarettes, they’d lose their market so they’ve got to be in there. A lot of the bigger e cigarette companies have already been bought up.”

She warned “If there are carcinogens in there, you won’t see an immediate effect but 10, 15, 20 years down the line, people will be dying from that.

“The development of e cigarettes is definitely running ahead of the science.”