Ed Note .... This item has been sent in to us and we have published it for information - but it should be made clear that we do NOT endorse it in anyway whatsoever. The editorial team believes that using E-Cigs in public sends out the wrong signals and that their use be classified as a standard cigarette.
Save E-cigs, a national campaign representing e-cigarette users, their
friends, and their families, yesterday launched a petition on the
Welsh Assembly website. Already the petition has been supported by
over 300 people.
The petition calls upon the Welsh Government to drop their proposed
ban on the use of e-cigarettes in enclosed public spaces,
substantially enclosed public places, and places of work in Wales.
This proposal, if implemented, can only lead to fewer people using
e-cigarettes and more people going back to smoking cigarettes.
At least 100,000 people in Wales are using e-cigarettes. These people
are smoking fewer or no cigarettes; this should be a cause for
celebration, not concern.
A recent BBC poll found that 62% of the public opposed a ban on the
use of e-cigarettes in public. In Spain where a ban on the use of
e-cigarettes in public was introduced, there was a 70% decline in the
use of e-cigarettes and a rise in the rate of smoking. We fear the
same will happen in Wales if the Welsh Government implements their
proposed ban.
With a ban on the advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes soon to be
introduced, following the passing of the Tobacco Products Directive,
where are smokers to find out about e-cigarettes, particularly if they
are banned in public places? Smokers need to see people using
e-cigarettes in public, they need to be able to go up and speak to
e-cigarette users so that they can find out further information and
then hopefully make the switch to a safer alternative.
Simon Thurlow, who tabled the petition on behalf of Save E-cigs said:
“In its approach the Welsh Government are going against the
precautionary principle as it was originally intended, they are trying
to mitigate for a risk that has yet to be proven and in doing so may
do more harm than good.
The ban on smoking in enclosed public places was introduced to benefit
the health of non-smokers whose health was put at risk as a result of
being in close proximity to smokers. Therefore any proposal to
include e-cigarettes within this ban must also be to protect the
health of non-vapers, but we know from a recent major scientific study
that passive vaping is not dangerous.
What public health gain does the Welsh Government hope to achieve with this proposal? If the Welsh Government succeeds in banning
e-cigarettes in public places, they will be forcing vapers to vape
alongside smokers and exposing them to the dangers of second-hand
smoke. We are in contact with vapers on a daily basis and many have
said such a ban would simply force them back to smoking. Is this
really what the Welsh Government wants?”
