In an article on EU magazine The Parliament, Martusciello pointed out that the European Union needs to actively promote and protect the innovation, research and development of vaping products. The parliamentarian added that this would send the right message to investors and ensure the development of high quality products.
The politician is urging the EU parliament to hold a debate on the matter, in order to discuss not only a more appropriate regulatory framework for the products, but also to ensure that the right EU standards are in place, and finally to minimize illicit trade of the products.
Last March, another Italian entity, the Lega Italiana Anti Fumo (LIAF), hosted an event at the EU Parliament that allowed experts to exchange data pertaining to e-cigarettes, and debate their potential as harm reduction tools.
The event was called “Electronic cigarette and damage reduction: a potential step forward for European health”, and featured a number of renowned speakers amongst which Agnieszka Kozakiewicz from the European Commission, Professor Riccardo Polosa from the Institute of Internal Medicine and Clinical Immunology at University of Catania, and Linda Bauld, a Professor of Health Policy and Dean of Research (Impact) at the University of Stirling.
Europe should exploit “this technology to reduce the impact of smoking”
“Use of e-cigarettes in the world is growing continuously. However, Europe is falling behind. It is essential that Europe exploits the potential of this technology to reduce the impact of smoking on European Public Health. For this reason, the Italian Anti-Smoking League (Lega Italiana Anti Fumo – LIAF), hosted by MEP Giovanni La Via (former Chair of the ENVI Committee), is bringing experts and policymakers to the European Parliament to discuss the benefits of electronic cigarettes,” said the LIAF in a statement at the time.
