E-cigarette law a 'silly policy'

E-cigarette law a 'silly policy':

A ban on nicotine in e-cigarette products is under fire from a visiting health professional who says it is naïve and doing more harm than good.

University of Queensland professor Wayne Hall is presenting at Thursday’s e-cigarette symposium at the University of Auckland and will join leading experts in calling for the prohibition to be lifted.

Electronic nicotine refills are illegal to sell over the counter but can be legally bought from overseas suppliers for personal use.

Hall said the law created an “absurd situation” where people were resorting to the black market to buy products that contained a less harmful form of nicotine than normal tobacco cigarettes.

"You can buy cigarettes wherever you like but you’re not allowed to buy something that’s probably a great deal safer, at least in the short term," he said.

"It does seem a pretty silly policy."

He said the government needed to acknowledge the widespread use of the e-devices by reversing the ban and regulating the nicotine products to ensure their safety.

“There needs to be a middle ground where there is some form of regulation.

“Assuming that if we just ban it no-one will use it is a naïve position.”

Ministry of Health enforcement officers have targeted stores selling nicotine e-cigarettes over the past six months and issued verbal warnings to several retailers.

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