AUSTRALIA
A federal parliamentary inquiry is examining whether e-cigarettes should be legalized in Australia. More than a hundred people who have written submissions, pleading with the government to change the laws. Currently, using the nicotine-based products in Australia is illegal because it is classed as a poison by the therapeutic goods administration (TGA).
However, Professor Simon Chapman from the University of Sydney warned that potential dangers of the devices had not been fully investigated and that the product should be fully regulated before it is made available in Australia.
“If someone was coming along with a cancer cure or an asthma cure and saying we need to get it out of the regulatory quagmire, people would say, that’s not how we do things in Australia,” he said. “And that’s why we need good quality evidence to inform us as to whether or not the net benefit to the community is as those who’ve succeeded with it, claim it is.”
He also questioned why manufacturers of the nicotine products had not submitted them for testing by TGA. “The question has to be asked, what are the manufacturers afraid of? Manufacturers of other nicotine replacement products have had to submit all the evidence that they were effective and safe,” he said.
The parliamentary inquiry is expected to report back later this year.