Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1162416
6 tobaccoasia / Issue 4, 2019 September / October From the Associate Editor © 2019 October Multimedia Co Ltd., TOBACCO ASIA is published quinterly (five times a year) by October Multimedia Co Ltd in March, May, July, September, and December. Printing and distribu- tion of TOBACCO ASIA is overseen by October Inter Co. Ltd., Interchange 21 Bldg., Room 3225, 32nd Fl., 399 Sukhumvit Road, North Klong Toey, Wattana, Bangkok, 10110 THAILAND. Tel +66 2 660 3789. Fax +66 2 660 3881. E-mail: info@octobermultimedia.com web: www.tobaccoasia.com. Representation for Tobacco Asia Asia / Middle East / Australasia China / Eastern Europe Italy / Spain / France October Inter Co. Ltd. Interchange 21 Bldg., Room 3225, 399 Sukhumvit Road 32nd Fl. Bangkok, 10110, Thailand Tel +662 660 3789, Fax +662 660 3881 Contact: Glenn Anthony John Mobile +1 917 843 0000 or +66 818 299 409 gaj@octobermultimedia.com The Americas / Northern Europe Turkey / Africa Cardinal Media LLC 2 Glenfield, Barrington RI 02806 United States Contact: Emerson Leonard Tel +1 917 680 1050 edl@octobermultimedia.com Printing/Distribution overseen by: October Inter Co. Ltd. Interchange 21 Bldg., Room 3225, 399 Sukhumvit Road, 32nd Fl. Bangkok, 10110, Thailand Tel +662 660 3789 Fax +662 660 3881 Distribution by: DHL Express International Published by: October Multimedia Co., Ltd. Printed in Thailand © 2019 October Multimedia Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. By-lined or initialed articles represent the opinion of the author. All articles published in Tobacco Asia or www.tobaccoasia.com are copyrighted. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including pho- tocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission. Bans on e-cigarettes have been imposed in many countries, to varying degrees. Whether it's indoor bans or prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes to those aged under 18, or banning the sales, im- port, and use of e-cigarettes entirely, it seems that the two main reasons for the bans are to: 1) stop people from smoking, and 2) prevent those under the age of 18 from smoking. If we carefully consider these two main reasons for e-cigarette bans, a question arises: would a ban really achieve these goals, or could it potentially backfire and have the opposite effect? First things first before we go any further: let's make it clear that we are not against regula- tions on e-cigarettes. Of course, there should be rules when it comes to quality and safety issues, and no one here is advocating selling these products to young people. But when e-cigarettes could potentially be an alternative with fewer harmful effects than conventional tobacco cigarettes, wouldn't banning them actually be shooting ourselves in the foot? If peo- ple don't have access to e-cigarettes, wouldn't they simply continue to smoke conventional cigarettes? So, how would banning e-cigarette help reduce the number of smokers? Then there's the matter of banning flavors and lowering nicotine levels in e-cigarettes. A new study funded by the US National Institutes of Health suggests that doing so would actually cause people to vape less and smoke more cigarettes. The study, led by Lauren Pacek, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine, surveyed 240 young adults aged 18 to 29 who used both e-cigarettes and conventional tobacco cigarettes. The participants were asked what they would do: if the sale of flavored e-cigarettes were limited; if e-cigarettes didn't contain nicotine; and if they couldn't adjust the amount of nicotine or the temperature of the vapor. The results were: 47% of the participants said they wouldn't use e-cigs as often and would smoke more tobacco cigarettes if nicotine was not in e-cigarettes; 22% said they would use e-cigarettes less and smoke tobacco cigarettes more if the ability to customize e-cigarettes was no longer available; and 17% said they would do the same if e-cigarette flavors were limited to tobacco and menthol. Fortunately, there is also a growing number of countries that have adopted (or are in the pro- cess of adopting) a less stringent stance on e-cigarettes and recognizing their potential ben- efits. While it may be true that e-cigarettes haven't been in the market long enough for there to be enough scientific data to unequivocally state that e-cigs are a "safer" alternative, most reports, studies, and findings point toward the so-called new generation products as being a "safer" (not necessarily "safe") alternative which may reduce traditional cigarette smoking. Have governments been too quick to ban them? Nattira Medvedeva associate editor