A few weeks ago, we once again mentioned the situation in Australia explaining that the legislation on nicotine should be reviewed. Following this, many positions were taken and the debate is clearly open to the land of kangaroos.
A DECISION DISCRIMINATORY AND CONTRARY TO ETHICS!
For many researchers pushing for the legalization of nicotine in e-cigarettes, Australian law protects the tobacco giants. As we mentioned, the drug regulator will be consulted to consider the possibility of exempting nicotine from the list of dangerous poisons for concentrations of 3,6% and below. All this would have a single purpose: Reduce the damage caused by tobacco.
It is after this that forty international and Australian academics have written to the Therapeutic Goods Administration supporting the request of the New Alliance Nicotine, a non-profit organization that advocates for alternatives to smoking by taking into account risk reduction.
According to them, it is discriminatory and unethical to authorize the sale of nicotine contained in tobacco while prohibiting an alternative " reduced risk". In their letters, the academics assure that e-cigarettes will save lives and demand that nicotine be authorized for smokers, recalling that it is the combustion of tobacco that causes most health problems. According to them, this legalization would also avoid the risks associated with the purchase of nicotine on the black market.
A SITUATION THAT PROTECTS BIG TOBACCO AND ENCOURAGES SMOKING
«I do not understand this logic which allows nicotine in a lethal form with conventional cigarettes while prohibiting that contained in e-cigarettes while it reduces the risks“Said Ann McNeill, professor at Kings College London. " The current situation in Australia protects the cigarette trade, encourages smoking and increases the risk of illness."
As a reminder, e-cigarettes are legal in Australia, it is the sale and possession of nicotine e-liquids that is prohibited. According to opponents of this legalization, the tobacco giants could use vaping devices as a new opportunity to hook the population and renormalize the act of smoking. Still according to them, electronic cigarettes could serve as a gateway to tobacco for young people or as a crutch for smokers preventing them from quitting smoking. Finally, they state that there is no credible evidence to suggest that e-cigarettes can reduce quit rates.
The nicotine legalization application will be reviewed by the Drug Advisory Committee, a tentative decision is scheduled for the month of February.
