In a recent press release, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) announces that it is leaving the NEN / CEN / ISO committees for tobacco and e-cigarettes with immediate effect. According to the RIVM, the main reason is the considerable influence exerted by the tobacco industry within these committees.
PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTION THAT IS NO LONGER ENHANCED!
In a recent press release on its official website, Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) declares to quit the NEN / CEN / ISO committees for tobacco and e-cigarettes with immediate effect.
The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment will leave the committees NEN / CEN / ISO for tobacco and electronic cigarettes with immediate effect. The main reason is the considerable influence that the tobacco industry exerts in these committees, where the protection of public health is not sufficiently emphasized. The RIVM will remain active in other NEN, CEN and ISO committees, which focus on subjects other than tobacco.
The RIVM became a member of these so-called tobacco working groups six years ago. In addition to the RIVM and the Dutch Food and Consumer Safety Authority, around eight delegates from the tobacco industry participated in these working groups. This disparity has become more and more restrictive over the years. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which plays an important role in smoking cessation, shows an irreconcilable conflict between the interests of the tobacco industry and those of public health.
The other reason we are leaving the tobacco and e-cigarette committees is the use of methods other than ISO to examine the content and emissions of cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
related products. This method was developed by the TobLabNet of the WHO, which develops and validates methods independently of the tobacco industry. RIVM's membership in TobLabNet enables knowledge acquisition and sharing. The RIVM will continue to use ISO methods prescribed by law to verify that products comply with legal requirements.
The evolution of society in terms of the tobacco industry's influence on tobacco policy also plays a role in the RIVM's decision to withdraw from this committee.
«Reasons for leaving have accumulated»Says Annemiek van Bolhuis, Director of Public Health and Health Services at RIVM.
«We have tried to protect public health as a member of these committees, but the dominance of the tobacco industry has proven to be too great and we are now in a better position to serve public health interests through an alternative route, namely TobLabNet. »She declared.
