Doctors in Australia Advocate for E-Cigarette Reforms

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Doctors in Australia Advocate for E-Cigarette Reforms

According to recent statistics released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, for the first time in decades, since the implementation of anti-smoking campaigns and taxes on cigarettes, the number of Australians who smoke has increased. Currently, there are 2.4 million Australians who smoke cigarettes, an increase of 21,000 since 2013, prompting the question of whether or not the nation’s anti-smoking policies are still effective.

Dr. Alex Wodak, retired Doctor and currently the Director of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation told the Australian press that “Australia is doing everything right in terms of tobacco control,” which includes plain packaging and high taxes on traditional cigarettes. However, he notes that a key difference between the Australian approach and that of countries such as the U.K. and the U.S., where smoking rates have dropped, is that Australia still maintains a hostile attitude towards electronic cigarettes.

While e-cigarettes and vaping devices are legal in Australia, the sale and possession of the nicotine used in them is illegal. Unlike a combustible cigarette which burns tobacco to release the addictive substance, the e-cig heats a liquid to release nicotine; the process doesn’t produce any tar or smoke, which is known to contain “over 7,000 chemicals, of which over 70 cause cancer.” Many ex-smokers in the U.S. and the U.K. have turned to these devices to help them successfully quit cigarettes, and as recently as late July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a comprehensive roadmap to reduce nicotine addiction, including plans to encourage innovation of products like e-cigs, which deliver nicotine in a safer way.

Doctors across Australia are now pleading for e-cigarette reform, stating that smokers deserve access to a safer alternative to combustible cigarettes. Dr. Alex Wodak cited a major study conducted by the Royal College of Physicians in England which found vaping to be 95 percent safer than regular cigarettes. He added that Australia should provide easy access to flavored nicotine products, which he says would entice smokers to quit.

Do you think that Australia should change its approach to nicotine laced e-juice? Tell us what you think by commenting below.

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