This week, the Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is meeting in Moscow, Russia.
A WHO report on “electronic nicotine delivery systems” (ENDS), of which e-cigarettes are the most common prototype, is one of the items on the agenda of the biennial meeting of Parties to the global tobacco treaty.
E-cigarettes and other ENDS are electronic devices which deliver an aerosol by heating a liquid solution that users inhale. The liquid solutions may include nicotine, propylene glycol, with or without glycerol, and flavouring agents.
WHO is calling for stronger global regulation of e-cigarettes and similar devices, as they are frequently marketed by manufacturers as aids to quit smoking, or as healthier alternatives to tobacco.
The global market for e-cigarettes and other ENDS has expanded dramatically in the last few years. Since 2005, the e-cigarette industry has grown from one manufacturer in China to an estimated US$3 billion global business with almost 500 brands. The report highlights WHO’s concern about the role of the tobacco industry in this growing market.
The WHO report to be discussed at the Conference of the FCTC Parties in Moscow states that while e-cigarettes represent an “evolving frontier filled with promise and threat for tobacco control,” regulations are needed to:
- Impede e-cigarette promotion to non-smokers and young people;
- Minimize potential health risks to e-cigarette users and nonusers;
- Prohibit unproven health claims about e-cigarettes; and
- Protect existing tobacco control efforts from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.
The report explains that while additional research is needed on multiple areas of e-cigarette use, regulations are required now to address health concerns, in particular for:
- Advertising: An appropriate government body must restrict e-cigarette advertising, promotion and sponsorship, to ensure that it does not target youth and non-smokers or people who do not currently use nicotine.
- Indoor use: legal steps should be taken to end use of e-cigarettes indoors in public and work places. Evidence suggests that exhaled e-cigarette aerosol increases the background air level of some toxicants, nicotine and particles.
The recommended regulatory measures outlined in the report include a ban on e-cigarettes with fruit, candy-like and alcohol-drink flavours until it can be proved they are not attractive to children and adolescents. E-cigarettes have been marketed in almost 8000 different flavours, and there is concern some of these may serve as a gateway to nicotine addiction and, ultimately, smoking, particularly for young people.
Among other conclusions, the WHO Report says that there is currently insufficient evidence to conclude whether e-cigarettes help users quit smoking or not. Therefore, WHO currently recommends that smokers should first be encouraged to quit smoking and nicotine addiction by using a combination of already-approved treatments.
The Conference of the Parties is the central organ and governing body of the WHO FCTC and comprises 179 Parties.
The WHO FCTC was adopted by the World Health Assembly on 21 May 2003 and entered into force on 27 February 2005. It has since become one of the most rapidly and widely embraced treaties in United Nations history.
To read the full WHO Report: http://apps.who.int/gb/fctc/PDF/cop6/FCTC_COP6_10-en.pdf?ua=1
Other items on the agenda at the WHO FCTC Conference of the Parties this week include new guidelines for Parties on tobacco taxation, a report on economically sustainable alternatives to growing tobacco, and a progress report on the status of the new Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Control Products.
For more information, please contact
Ms WU Linlin
WHO China Office
E-mail: wul@wpro.who.int
Office Tel: +86 10 6532 7191