The European Commission’s attempt to convince member countries to ban vaping in almost all public places - as reported by Clearing the Air yesterday - has been slammed by a leading Member of the European Parliament as “not helpful”.
Dr. Peter Liese, the health policy spokesperson for the largest group in the European Parliament (the centre-right EPP Group) and a practicing doctor, made clear his opposition to the Commission’s plans.
“For heavy smokers who otherwise cannot quit, e-cigarettes are an important tool to reduce harm and risks”, said Liese, who is also co-ordinator of the EPP group on the Parliament’s Environment and Public Health Committee.
“E-cigarettes do contain nicotine, which is addictive, but they do not contain all the other substances in cigarette smoke that cause damages such as cancer and stroke, Liese continued. “[E]ven experts from the World Health Organization say that there is no theoretical scenario where e-cigarettes are as harmful”.
“I do not think it is effective to equate them [e-cigarettes] with tobacco smoke in the proposal for the Council recommendation. I hope the member states will correct this point” Liese concluded.
Liese has been a strong defender of safer nicotine products at the EU level, frequently speaking out against the European Commission’s desire to impose heavy-handed regulation.
As co-ordinator of the Parliamentary Committee which will review any updates to the Directive, his voice will matter when it comes to deciding whether or not safer nicotine products are banned or regulated out of existence, as the Commission’s services (if not necessarily its political masters) will want to see.
Dr Liese - who represents the German state of North-Rhine Westphalia - is also strongly opposed to smoking, and made clear his support for banning cigarettes in public.
“It is important that we adopt measures at all levels to protect people from tobacco smoke. Smoking is particularly dangerous for the smokers themselves” he said.
“There is nothing better one can do for their health than to quit smoking. Other health protection measures such as exercise and healthy eating are also important, but stopping smoking brings the most significant benefits by far. Protecting other people, especially children, from tobacco is also extremely sensible”.
