Electronic Cigarette Trial Shows Promise in Norfolk, UK

Aug.31.2022
Electronic Cigarette Trial Shows Promise in Norfolk, UK
A successful e-cigarette smoking cessation trial project in Norfolk, UK, and tightening tobacco regulations in Indonesia, Spain, and the EU.

The pilot project for using electronic cigarettes to quit smoking in Norfolk, UK, has shown initial success.


A smoking cessation pilot project conducted in Great Yarmouth County, Norfolk, the county with the highest number of smokers in England, from December 2019 to July 2021, has recently achieved promising results. The project, called "County Town UK Voucher Scheme for E-Cigarettes", was jointly implemented by Notley, Pippa Belderson and Emma Ward of the University of East Anglia, Hannah Clark of Norfolk City Council, and James Wade of the Norfolk Smoking Cessation Organization. This is a collaboration between universities and public health. According to the coordinator, the experiment was based on a coupon system that allowed participants to receive a free starter kit for e-cigarettes, which was very encouraging. One month later, 143 participants quit smoking, including 42% who had redeemed vouchers and 21% who had received vouchers. Twelve weeks later, 15% of participants remained smoke-free. The project also received positive reviews from participants.


Indonesia - The government is making efforts to strengthen tobacco regulation, which includes electronic cigarettes.


According to a report from Jakarta Post, the Indonesian government plans to tighten tobacco control laws to limit underage smoking. Among the various regulations under consideration, the Ministry of Health is trying to control the promotion and packaging of e-cigarettes. Since the legalization of e-cigarettes in 2018, they have been unregulated. The Ministry of Health is also seeking to increase the size of graphic health warnings on tobacco packaging from 40% to 90% of the area. The government prohibits advertisements and promotions of tobacco products, and the sale of single cigarettes. As a longtime home to numerous cigarette manufacturers and one of the world's largest tobacco markets, Indonesia has long been known for its lenient tobacco laws.


The response from the European Union's Health Commissioner Kyriakides is drawing attention.


During a parliamentary questioning session, the EU Health Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, revealed her intention to strengthen the ban on commercial information related to electronic cigarettes, but she did not mention the regulation of nicotine-free liquids. Two Italian members of the European Parliament, Martusciello and Gancia, asked two direct questions: why not allow online promotion of e-cigarettes and related liquids, and does the regulation of nicotine-free liquids have the same requirements as those containing nicotine during the rewriting stage of the Tobacco Product Directive? The Commissioner's response was uncertain: "We are evaluating what to do.


Malaysia- E-cigarette sellers: E-cigarettes excluded from new smoking laws.


E-cigarette sellers are urging the government to exclude their products from the "End of Generation" bill, which aims to significantly reduce the number of smokers. The Malaysian Insight reported on this, emphasizing how the Malaysian e-cigarette entity organization, MOVE, which represents e-cigarette sellers' interests, is actively pushing to have e-cigarettes excluded from regulation. The new law acknowledges that such products can actually help smokers quit smoking. Treating them as equivalent to traditional cigarettes and punishing them under a common restrictive law will only deprive oneself of the basic tools required to achieve the law's stated objectives.


A Spanish NGO has launched a European petition to ban the use of tobacco and e-cigarettes among individuals born after 2010.


The Spanish non-governmental organization, No Fumadores, has launched a petition demanding that the European Commission ban the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products to all citizens born after 2010. The goal is to exclude an entire generation from the possibility of exposure to tobacco and nicotine products by 2030. In order to be successful, the petition must gather at least one million signatures within six months in seven different European Union countries. This is a very difficult goal, as the electronic cigarette industry has already attempted to differentiate itself from tobacco in 2019. Despite the efforts of the organizers, the initiative failed to gather the necessary signatures. The World Vapers' Alliance (WVA) immediately took the opposite position and rallied the networks of international electronic cigarette consumer organizations. "This initiative demonstrates widespread misinformation about different nicotine products. We cannot adopt a universal approach to very different products," said WVA President Michael Landl.


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