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In reply to the announcement of the findings of a survey conducted by the Irish Cancer Society today, the IVVA have issued the following press release:

The Irish Vape Vendors Association have noted a statement released by the Irish Cancer Society today, which calls for the regulation of electronic cigarettes as medicines.

”There are now thousands of Irish people who are tobacco free thanks to electronic cigarettes, but the IVVA see a number of conclusions reached by the Irish Cancer Society  which unfortunately may have the result in turning smokers away from trying them,” said Gillian Golden, administrator of the IVVA.

”The study data they refer to in their statement found that some users of electronic cigarettes are also using tobacco cigarettes, and the Irish Cancer Society incorrectly make the claim that this points to e-cigarettes cutting down a smoker’s chance of quitting”.

In trying an electronic cigarette for the first time, many smokers experience a transitional period whereby they may begin by replacing some of their usual smoking with e-cigarette use, and then gradually increase that use to a point whereby they no longer feel the need to smoke. The cross sectional data referred to by the Irish Cancer Society does not acknowledge this.

”The NRT treatments that prove to be successful for some smokers may not work for others. And those are often the very people that have great success with switching from combustible tobacco to electronic cigarettes as a way of reducing their exposure to harm. If smokers are unnecessarily warned away from these products, they may well just continue to smoke.”

The Irish Cancer Society also claim that there are currently no regulations covering electronic cigarettes, however the IVVA feel this is somewhat misleading the Irish consumer. As it stands today they are covered by a number of EU consumer product regulations, in such areas as chemical safety, electrical safety, weights and measures, packaging and labeling, commercial practice and data protection.

”A product that the scientific researchers can agree on being between 95% and 99% safer than tobacco smoking should be encouraged, not prohibited by medicinal regulation, and given the positive study results that similar public health bodies and charities have found in the UK, the position of the Irish Cancer Society is puzzling. Any policy that goes to regulating these products in Ireland must be science and not ideologically based.” said Golden.

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