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"About 3.2million people in the UK vape and Public Health England (PHE) has said that "the variety of devices available means that the term e-cigarette is no longer appropriate". The head of tobacco control at PHE highlights that "unlike the US, all e-cigarette products in the UK are tightly regulated for quality and safety by the MHRA and they operate the Yellow Card Scheme".
As I walk the streets, I am constantly impressed by the cumuli emitted from some of these notifiable and regulated devices in terms of both size and aroma and wonder what effect these clouds might be having on me as I walk through them? The Gov.UK website lists 19,511 entries for published products beginning with letters A-I and 21,084 entries for J-Z. Some further 3,365 products have been withdrawn - with such names such as Bad Drip Lockjaw and Zeus Juice UK Ltd Dragon Blood.
I find myself feeling extremely sceptical that this number of products, and their required notification and regulation, can possibly be comprehensively and sustainably undertaken by the MHRA. I would be greatly reassured to know more about the mechanisms employed by the MHRA to, inter alia, monitor content, quality of materials used and processes of manufacture (of both content and device).
And aside from the nicotine - what else do these vapes contain? It is, after all, in the public interest to know what we are ALL inhaling?
Competing interests:
I was involved in advising on the development of the e-cigarette e-Voke (British American Tobacco) in terms of smoking harm-reduction.
Going up in Vapour
"About 3.2million people in the UK vape and Public Health England (PHE) has said that "the variety of devices available means that the term e-cigarette is no longer appropriate". The head of tobacco control at PHE highlights that "unlike the US, all e-cigarette products in the UK are tightly regulated for quality and safety by the MHRA and they operate the Yellow Card Scheme".
As I walk the streets, I am constantly impressed by the cumuli emitted from some of these notifiable and regulated devices in terms of both size and aroma and wonder what effect these clouds might be having on me as I walk through them? The Gov.UK website lists 19,511 entries for published products beginning with letters A-I and 21,084 entries for J-Z. Some further 3,365 products have been withdrawn - with such names such as Bad Drip Lockjaw and Zeus Juice UK Ltd Dragon Blood.
I find myself feeling extremely sceptical that this number of products, and their required notification and regulation, can possibly be comprehensively and sustainably undertaken by the MHRA. I would be greatly reassured to know more about the mechanisms employed by the MHRA to, inter alia, monitor content, quality of materials used and processes of manufacture (of both content and device).
And aside from the nicotine - what else do these vapes contain? It is, after all, in the public interest to know what we are ALL inhaling?
Competing interests: I was involved in advising on the development of the e-cigarette e-Voke (British American Tobacco) in terms of smoking harm-reduction.