The Ministry of Health has achieved another milestone, as for the first time, electronic cigarette (e-cigarettes) retailers will now have to be registered and licensed.
This call comes after Cabinet endorsed the Health Ministry’s Amendments to the Tobacco Control Decree 2010 to regulate e-cigarettes on Tuesday (June 17, 2014).
A Cabinet meeting on October 14 last year reflected its full support and agreed that e-cigarette should be regulated with special emphasis on the following areas; manufacturers, importers and retailers to be registered and licensed annually, ban on advertising and promotion of the product, ban on the sales to persons under the age of 18years, and ban the use of these products in certain public places.
The need to regulate e-cigarettes came about as it was aggressively entering into global, regional and domestic markets with unproven claims of safety and efficacy as smoking cessation aids.
This had also prompted all states that are Party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to regulate e-cigarettes.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently reviewing the existing evidence around e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) to determine their safety and efficacy.
WHO is also working with national regulatory bodies to look at regularity options as well as toxicology experts to understand more about the impact e-cigarettes may have on health.
“E-cigarettes” are defined as any electronic device consisting of a battery-powered heating element, cartridge and atomiser that is shaped like a cigarette, cigar or pipe designed to deliver nicotine or other substances to a user in the form of a vapour.
The Ministry of Health therefore aims to support the government in making and enforcing policies that protect the health of present and future generations of Fiji from the devastating health consequences, as well as the economic and social burden of tobacco use.
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