THUR5DAY JANUARV 16, 2O2O II 81

E-cigs seen as le'ss harmful relative

to cigarettes WH0 representative
.A REPRESENTATIVE of the World The National Academies of Sciences,
Health Organization who attended a Engineering and Medicine in 2018 re-
congressional hearing in the Philippines leased a report stating that "completely
acknowledged that electronic cigaxettes switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes
are less harmfirl than cigarettes. will reduce exposure to numerous !oxi-
Dr. Ranti Fayokun, a scientist in the cans and carcinogens found in ciga-
National Capacity-Tobacco Control rett€s".
Prevention of Non-Communicable Dis- "They [World Health Organization)
eases, made the coinmenl in response to are.-saying if you are a country that
-
a question from a Filipino congressman cannot produce regulation and can-
during the hearing on vaping regulation not enforce regulation, you must ban.
conducted by the House of Representa- That, to me, is a contradiction. A coun-
tives in Decdmber last vear- try cannot regulate perfectly, but the
Fayokun's admissioi was mdlb amid last thing it should do is ban because
the organization's cautious stand on e- the black market will proliferate. This
cigarettes despite the mounting scien- is an issue that is extremely impbrtant
tific evidence that they are less hannfrl to children. Ifwe ban things, ifwe do
than traditional cigarettes. not regulate things, we create a black
Public Health England has always market that does not care about chil-
maintained that e-cigaxettes arc 95-pet- dren, that does not care about elderly
cent less harmfi.rl than tobacco and has people, that does not care about us at
encouraged smokers who coirld not qrdt all," Dr Andrew da Roza, an addiction
smoking to switch 10 the less harnirl psychotherapist and lawyer said in the
altemative, ; congressional hearing.