The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Fund us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Cannes
      • Sundance London
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • Tumblr

  • RSS


Current affairsNewsPolitics & Social issues

Experts warn WHO not to “control and suppress” e-cigarettes

Experts warn WHO not to “control and suppress” e-cigarettes
29 May 2014
Vanessa Smart
Avatar
Vanessa Smart
29 May 2014

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been warned by scientists to “resist the urge to control and suppress e-cigarettes”, arguing that these safer nicotine products could be part of the solution to reduce non-communicable diseases.

E-cigarettes regulation sparks a debate amongst scientists and the World Health Organisation. Photo: Lindsay Fox

A group of 53 leading experts from 15 countries have urged the WHO to reconsider its stance on e-cigarettes being a “threat” to public health.

In an open letter to WHO director general Margaret Chan, the experts wrote: “These products could be among the most significant health innovations of the 21st century – perhaps saving hundreds of millions of lives. The urge to control and suppress them as tobacco products should be resisted.”

Gerry Stimson, emeritus professor at Imperial College London and one of the signatories on the letter, warned that excessive restrictions will put more lives at risk.

Gerry said: “If the WHO gets its way and extinguishes e-cigarettes, it will not only have passed up what is clearly one of the biggest public health innovations of the last three decades that could potentially save millions of lives, but it will have abrogated its own responsibility under its own charter to empower consumers to take control of their own health.”

Leaked documents from a meeting last November suggest the WHO observes e-cigarettes as a “threat” and wants them classified in a way similar to other tobacco products under the Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC).

A spokesman of the WHO said: “WHO is still unsure of its position on e-cigarettes and is currently working on recommendations for governments on the regulation and marketing of e-cigarettes and similar devices. We are also working with national regulatory bodies to look at regulatory options, as well as toxicology experts, to understand more about the possible impact of e-cigarettes.”

Professor Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, backed the WHO statement and said: “The organisation correctly bases its decisions on the best available evidence.”

Vanessa Smart

Related Itemse-cigarettetobacco productsWHO

More in Current Affairs

Why even small retailers have to do financial audits

The editorial unit
Read More

Present and future of online gaming

The editorial unit
Read More

Donald Trump: An enemy of the arts?

The editorial unit
Read More

Trump’s fortune: Where did the money come from?

The editorial unit
Read More

Snapchat Spectacles come to the UK

The editorial unit
Read More

Macron’s win: What are the financial implications for the UK?

The editorial unit
Read More

Wi-Fi in the sky

The editorial unit
Read More

Is Prince Philip’s retirement a sign of a new monarchy era?

The editorial unit
Read More

Is it too soon to find humour in the housing crisis?

The editorial unit
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Tickets

Theatre tickets

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Project Gastronomía: How will Londoners eat in 2050? A symposium on gastronomy and multisensory design
    Food & Drinks
  • Clare Smyth crowned the World’s Best Female Chef 2018
    Food & Drinks
  • Bat Out of Hell at the Dominion Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Tribeca Film Festival 2018: On the red carpet with the stars of Westworld season 2
    Cinema
  • Tokio Myers at the Forum
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Wound (Inxeba)
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Clare Smyth crowned the World’s Best Female Chef 2018
    Food & Drinks
  • Strictly Ballroom at Piccadilly Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Writer at the Almeida Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Avengers: Infinity War
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Wound (Inxeba)
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Strictly Ballroom at Piccadilly Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Writer at the Almeida Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Avengers: Infinity War
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Sherlock Gnomes premiere: A chat with James McAvoy, his co-stars and the film’s creators
    Cinema

Instagram

Something is wrong. Response takes too long or there is JS error. Press Ctrl+Shift+J or Cmd+Shift+J on a Mac.
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Fund us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • New London restaurant openings and pop-ups
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Subscribe
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2018 FL Media Ltd

Scientists to test dogs and cats for Mers infection
Stephen Sutton vigil continues: £4 million funds raised