British American Tobacco highlighted some inaccuracies in the European Commission’s recent scientific review on the health effects of e-cigarettes, and called on the SCHEER Committee (Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental, and Emerging Risks) to enhance the quality of its review, which could lead to revisions of rules that will affect millions of vapers in Europe.
Flaws in the methodology and conclusions of the review highlighted by BAT include that it:
- Fails to contextualize the risks of e-cigarettes relative to those associated with continued smoking;
- Makes inaccurate claims regarding e-cigarettes many of which have been widely debunked by the scientific and public health communities;
- Contains false assumptions that e-cigarette aerosol is the same as tobacco smoke;
- Neglects landmark independent studies showing that many smokers view e-cigarettes as an acceptable alternative to smoking; and
- Relies on data from non-EU markets and studies on products pre-dating the current Tobacco Products Directive that are not relevant to the current EU context.
Eric Sensi-Minautier, BAT’s vice president EU affairs, said, “If future regulations on vaping were to be based on the review as it stands now, they would be based on flawed evidence. We call on the SCHEER Committee to address the serious gaps in the review and reflect the weight of evidence supporting the harm reduction potential of e-cigarettes relative to continued smoking. It’s important that the commission bases any change to the rules on vaping on accurate scientific advice that has been conducted to the highest standards, to make sure the millions of European vapers who use e-cigarettes as an alternative to smoking can continue to access them. We take the science around e-cigarettes seriously and are leading our own weight of evidence review to advance understanding of this growing product category.”