Vaping Post: Now in 2017, what do you retain from the year 2016?
“WHO’s determination to endorse ENDS prohibition at FCTC Delhi meeting was the global low-point” -C. Bates
Clive Bates: The success of SOVAPE and the change in the approach of key players in France was a major breakthrough, but I think the endorsement of vaping by the Royal College of Physicians in its April 2016 report, Nicotine without smoke, was the most positive development overall. On the negative side, there is sadly so much to choose from – but I would say the WHO’s determination to endorse ENDS prohibition at FCTC Delhi meeting was the global low-point.
Vaping Post: What are your expectations for 2017?
“I hope that the United States FDA deeming regulations, (…) are defeated in the court challenge” -C. Bates
Clive Bates: I hope activists, academics and regulators will be more truthful about the huge public health opportunity presented by vaping and stop treating it like a terrible threat – in other words, do the jobs they are paid to do. More specifically, I hope that the United States FDA deeming regulations, with their near complete destruction of the U.S. vaping market, are defeated in the court challenge or sidelined by Congress and President Trump. Maybe a new Director-General at WHO, due to replace Margaret Chan in July 2017, will dismiss everyone in the FCTC Secretariat and replace them with people who understand evidence and care about health.
