Ottawa’s Misguided Approach to E-Cigarettes

In an editorial from Canada’s Maclean’s magazine, Colby Cosh laments his government’s ill-conceived efforts to curtail e-cigarette use.

Cosh seems to have a rather solid understanding of the current state of affairs: He explains how, although data is somewhat limited when it comes to long-term effects of e-cigarettes, they are surely immeasurably safer than traditional cigarettes.  He calls his government to task for withholding the safer alternative “like dinner from a misbehaving child.”

“There is a lot we do not know about e-cigarettes, and because industrial providers have been discouraged from experimenting with them, manufacturing standards vary like crazy. I, for one, am willing to give them a try. I hope I don’t die waiting for permission.”

Laws around e-cigarettes are relatively strict in Canada, as Cosh explains. “Health Canada has unconditionally forbidden the sale of e-cigarettes containing nicotine, and Canada Customs seizes nicotine cartridges when people are caught ordering them from abroad.” He notes that, in an effort to prevent the tobacco industry from finding a way other than cigarettes to deliver nicotine, his government may be overlooking the fact that nicotine isn’t the problem they need to be worrying about.

Ottawa’s misguided approach to e-cigarettes – Macleans.ca

Ottawa’s Misguided Approach to E-Cigarettes