France: The Ecig officially recognized in tobacco harm reduction

An official report has been published last Monday that recognizes the electronic cigarette as a harm reduction tool and warns against financial and administrative burdens imposed by the new European Directive on Tobacco Products.

Nathalie Dunand

April 19, 2016

“A non-negligible proportion of e-cigarette users significantly reduced the harmful effects of tobacco combustion”

About thirty experts were invited at the French Ministry of Health’s building in Paris on April 7 and 8 for a public hearing on “risk reduction and damage associated with addictive behaviors.” These two days, organized by the French Federation of Addictology (FFA), with the support of the MILDECA (Interministerial Mission for the fight against drugs and addictive behaviors) and the national High Authority of Health (HAS) resulted in an official report written by the Hearing Committee in charge of recommendations.

Released this week, the official report, whose topic extends beyond smoking, recognizes the electronic cigarette as “complementary tool for risk reduction” that “allows a significant proportion of users significantly reduce the deleterious effects of combusted tobacco” main vector of its toxicity.

The report’s authors are concerned about a transposition of the EU directive that could threaten the vaporizer’s boom

For members of the original commission that issued the report, it would be “very damaging” if the e-cigarette was “threatened by the new European directive on tobacco products (since it is not such a product).”

The Committee warns that the transposition of the Directive will “significantly hinder innovation” and “promote the electronic cigarettes marketed by the tobacco industry”, the only one “with the pharmaceutical industry”, able to support “the administrative and financial constraints imposed by this Directive.”

Regarding smoking, the commission board recommended to change approaches, assessment should be related to the actual use, not compared with products that do not have the same status. Appropriate regulation must secure its use, nicotine dosages tailored to user needs should be made available and the experience of vapers and vapers’ associations must be taken into account in the positioning of the electronic cigarette in tobacco risks and damages reduction policies.