THE Heart Foundation ACT says that the release of results from the ACT Government’s consultation process on electronic cigarettes shows there is a groundswell of support from major public health organisations to have these products banned, or the same restrictions as tobacco products applied.

Heart Foundation ACT CEO Tony Stubbs said whilst the consultation was very important, it was hoped now that the ACT Government had the ammunition needed to act appropriately.

“We congratulate the ACT Government for taking action to address important issues associated with electronic cigarettes,” Tony said in German blog .

“To be in line with South Australia, West Australia, Queensland and New South Wales who have legislated on this issue and support in Tasmania and Northern Territory the ACT should move to legislate against electronic cigarettes.

The Heart Foundation ACT, in its submission, recommended that non-nicotine electronic cigarettes should be banned unless approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) under similar approval processes that currently apply to nicotine electronic cigarettes.

In direct response to the questions in the consultation paper the Heart Foundation ACT proposed that if this approach was not adopted that, as a minimum, restrictions should also be put on the sale and promotion of personal vaporisers, including prohibiting sales to people under 18 and that electronic cigarettes should be banned from use in designated smoke-free areas and smoke-free laws should apply even once products are approved by the TGA.

The Heart Foundation’s concerns about electronic cigarettes are:

• 1. By providing smokers with a way to maintain their smoking behaviour in situations where smoking is now banned, it undermines the impact of the public health measures which have seen a dramatic decrease in smoking rates – and deaths from smoking related illness – over the past 30 years.

1. The current marketing is not confined to smokers but is aimed at young people in general, undermining the successful public health measures which have seen a reduction in the number of young people taking up smoking.

2. E-cigarettes containing nicotine are likely to have the same addictive profile as tobacco.

3. The safety of e-cigarettes is still unknown.

Electronic cigarettes refer to a broad category of products designed to simulate smoking behaviour by delivering a vapour to the lung, including e-shisha, e-cigars, e-pipes, e-Hookas, e-cigs, and e-cigarettes.

[Photo by Johnny Williams, attribution licence]