Fulvio Martusciello, an Italian politician, and a member of the European Parliament believes it’s just the right time the current legislation governing e-cigarettes be revised by the EU.
In a recent article published on the EU magazine, The Parliament, the Italian politician stated that the EU needs to be more proactive in promoting the innovation, research, and development of vaping products . Martusciello also added that by doing this, EU will be sending a right message to investors and ensuring the development of high-quality vaping products.
He also argued that since there are various research indicating that the device may be used as harm reduction tools helping to reduce smoking rates, authorities should then rely more on scientific research when it comes to appropriately regulating the product.
He also urges the EU parliament to have a debate as regards to the matter. He said this will not only help the EU to make a good discussion on how to appropriately create a regulatory framework for the product, but it will also ensure that the right EU standards are set in place, and finally, it will also help to minimize illicit trade of the product to the barest minimum.
However, another Italian entity, the Lega Italian Anti Fumo (LIAF) during the last March held an event at the EU parliament giving a good ground for experts to come together and compare data pertaining to e-cigarettes, and then debate their potential when being used as harm reduction tools.
The event was called “Electronic cigarette and damage reduction: a potential step forward for European health”, and had a number of great speakers in attendance including speakers like Agnieszka Kozakiewicz from the European Commission, Linda Bauld who is also a Professor of Health Policy and Dean of Research at the University of Stirling, and Professor Riccardo Polosa from the Institute of Medicine and Clinical Immunology at University of Catania.
Europe should actively make use of “this promising technology to reduce the impact of smoking”
The LIAF said in a statement that “the use of e-cigarettes in the world has received a huge growth while it still keeps on growing. However, Europe seems to be falling behind. It is important that Europe also stands up to exploit the potential of this technology to reduce the effect of smoking on European Public Health. On this note, the MEP Giovanni La Via, the former chair of the ENVI Committee hosted the Anti-Smoking League, the LIAF, bringing experts and policymakers to the European Parliament in order to have a concrete discussion about the potential benefits locked up in electronic cigarettes.”