<title>Why Are Cigarettes Legal But E-Cigarettes Are Not?</title> Image Credit: Buzzfeed
We all love a good laugh at those goofy Americans who wonder out aloud if Australia is really upside-down. And so we should, really. But then again, sometimes it seems that our northern friends might actually have a point.
In the land Down Under, it is illegal to import products that claim to help people quit smoking. It is illegal to sell most products that contain nicotine. In certain states it is illegal to possess nicotine and in others to sell products that so much as look like cigarettes. But you know what is legal?
Cigarettes.
There is something very bizarre going on in Australian smoking legislation. Let’s dive in and see if we can make some sense
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This means that if your e-cigarettes claim to help you quit smoking, you are going to run into trouble with customs!
Nicotine, which is contained in many electronic cigarettes (and, you know, actual cigarettes) is a Schedule 7 “Dangerous Poison” which makes it illegal to sell in Australia without a permit. This means that e-cigarettes containing nicotine cannot be bought inside Australia and there are also restrictions or prohibitions on possession in Queensland and Northern Territory.
Fortunately, Schedule 7 is not grounds for an import prohibition so people can still order their e-cigs from overseas without a problem. Under the Personal Importation Scheme, you can import up to a three-month supply of e-juice so long as it is for your own private use.
<h1>Didn’t Something Bizarre Happen in WA Recently?</h1>
It sure did. While it has always been illegal to sell e-cigarettes that contain nicotine in Australia, e-cig vendor Vince van Heerden has recently been charged for selling nicotine-free e-juice. So if not nicotine, what was the
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The answer is simple (albeit hard to find). Hidden away in the dense legalese of the Poisons Standard 2009 is this little gem:
NICOTINE [is] exempt in tobacco prepared and packaged for smoking.
That’s all there is to it. Nicotine is classified as a poison except when used in tobacco smoking.
But…Why!?
The Australian Medical Association in 1995 referred to it as “an historical accident” but attempts in the mid-90s to have the exemption status removed give us a clue as to how this came to be in the first place. The Tobacco Industry fought the Scheduling of tobacco, claiming that it would stigmatise smokers, damage the economy, and increase crime, all based on “nonsense” health claims.
In the end they won and tobacco remains exempt to this day although, to be fair, it has been heavily restricted. Smoking is banned in most public places, cannot be advertised anywhere except (sometimes) point of sale, and tobacco products must be displayed in plain, unbranded packaging. Nevertheless, Australia’s topsy-turvy legislation when it comes to electronic cigarettes is incredibly bizarre and, indeed, makes you wonder what exactly our policy-makers have been
Electronic cigarettes are more accessible to kids aged 18 and under. Today in the U.S there is a debate about cigarettes being outlawed. Although people in the U.S believe that e cigs should be outlawed because they are easier to access for kids under the age 18 they are causing kids to get hurt by e cigs; however some people might say E-cigs are enjoyable and are better than regular cigarettes.
Renneboog, R. M. (2016). Cigarette Smoking Bans: An Overview. Canadian Points Of View: Cigarette Smoking Bans, 1.
Nicotine is a highly toxic substance (LD40) which can affect the brain, central and autonomic nervous system
There is quite a bit of controversy regarding the use of E-cigarettes. A known fact according to the CDC and data from the 2011 and 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) is that, “the percentage of U.S. middle and high school students who use e-cigarettes more than doubled from 2011 to 2012” (Bayless, 2014; Corey et al., 2013). The advertising and targeting of children by e-cigarette companies is evidenced by the large amount of advertising featuring celebrities like Jenny McCarthy, attractive packaging including devices that look like flash drives, and candy flavorings that appeal to children such as chocolate, mint, bubble gum, cherry, and watermelon, to name just a few (Bayless, 2014; Dotinga, 2014; Madigan, 2013; Hahn, Riker, & Brown, 2014; Johnson, 2014; Weskerna, 2010). Another concern is the rise in calls to Poison Centers for nicotine poisoning. In a study by Chatham-Stephens, Law, Taylor, Melstrom, Bunnell, Wang, Apelberg, & Shier (2014) between September 2010 and February 2014, e-cigarette exposure calls increased from one in September 2010 to 215 in February of 2014. Exposure were by inhalation, eyes, and skin with adverse effects that included vomiting, nausea, eye irritation, and a suicidal death caused by intravenous injection of the nicotine liquid used to refill e-cigarettes (Chatham-Stephens et al., 2014). E-cigarettes are not regulated or approved by the FDA, so there is no control over ingriedients or their concentration. The concern as stated by Fielding, a member of the American Public Health Association, “I’m particularly concerned that this could be a gateway drug” (Big US cities, 2014). E-cigarettes are sold in numerous businesses right here...
Cigarettes (and its tobacco-related counterparts) have remained to this day, the most readily available and highly addictive substance that’s in legal America and “continues to be the leading cause of preventable death around the world” (Wascher). The production and sale of cigarettes should be made illegal in America because it manipulates people into adopting unhealthy lifestyles, encourages children to try smoking, and it subsequently shortens the lifespan of the smoker and those who surround them (second-hand smokers), by increasing the risk of adverse health effects.
Over the years, the partnership between health ministers and health groups has produced some very substantial gains on the subject of tobacco use. Smoking bans that were thought of as radical 20 years ago are now commonplace. Public awareness of smoking risks has never been higher. And our new Tobacco Act sets a world standard for anti-tobacco legislation.
Living in a world where many prefer to believe what is shown to them, rather than doing some of their own research, can lead to consequences. (Figure 1) Some people believe electronic cigarettes are a safer and healthier alternative to the actual cigarette because of how they are advertised. “Because they [e-cigs] deliver nicotine without burning tobacco, e-cigarettes are purported to be safer and less toxic than conventional cigarettes. Despite these claims, there’s still no real data on the effects of e-cigarettes (positive or negative), yet marketing materials still bill them as a healthy choice” (Worthington emphasis mine). Drug advertisements normally show the beneficial side of
Some actions should be taken on tobacco products because the risk of getting cancer is high. People vape everywhere in today’s society, blowing a massive amount of smoke that lingers in the air and could cause people nearby to cough or even children near it to cough. There needs to be a policy to ban cigarettes, it kills the smoker, in addition, it could kill the person exposed to the smoke from cigarettes. “The cigarette is also a defective product, meaning not just dangerous but unreasonably dangerous, killing half its long-term users” (Proctor). Cigarettes are not healthy in any way making it a defective product, it mainly kills the smoker rather than helping them.
Today, there is more and more discussion pondering the legality of cigarettes. It seems that there are several illegal substances and drugs that do not maintain anywhere near the number of negative effects that cigarettes cause, yet they are legal. Because there are countless statistics and proven facts depicting the detrimental consequences of cigarettes, why are they still legal? This issue is argued for and against by three exceptional writers: Robert N Proctor, who is a professor in the department of history, at Stanford University wrote “Why Ban the Sale of Cigarettes? The Case for Abolition”, Paul Goodman, a bookseller, librarian and freelance writer who composed “Should Cigarettes Be Banned Completely?”, and Peter Singer, who penned
Almost everyone knows the health risks involved with smoking tobacco. Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) give habitual smokers the most promising results of tobacco reduction or cessation. There are some that disagree with the use of e-cigarettes however; the benefits are exceptional for those looking to quit this habit. It significantly lowers their health risks related with smoking tobacco and, unlike cigarettes, it does not release any harmful toxic chemical substances. E-cigarettes are also more cost efficient than buying a pack of cigarettes. Although there are some that oppose the use of the economical e-cigarettes, the advantages are greater because
The Victorian ‘Tobacco Act 1987) was the first broad tobacco legislation and aimed to reduce smoking prevalence. The Act states ‘A person must not sell a tobacco product to a person under the age of 18 years.” (Human Service Western Region Tobacco Project Report) As part of this Government intervention, penalties were introduced with the maximum penalty for breaching the provision being $1000 first offence, $2000 second offence and possible loss of tobacco license for subsequent offences. Tobacco sales make up a large percentage of convenience stores sales (Refer to 5.????) and this Government crackdown on cigarettes which has continued to be prevalent has in some respects increased cigarette sales. The state government has acknowledged and concluded “A Disproportionate number of cigarette sales to minors occurred at milkbars and service station convenience stores compared to supermarkets, newsagents, and tobacconists.)
One of the biggest problems with society today is children and young adults are turning to electronic cigarettes for a source to nicotine. It is understood that some people might think that electronic cigarettes are better for people but here is why they are not. Electronic cigarettes have the same consequences as normal cigarettes with very few differences, such as in electronic cigarettes there is no tobacco and there is no carbon monoxide. Some might not know what is really in electronic cigarettes. Many people don’t know that there are over seven thousand chemicals and cartridges in these devices. Smoking electronic cigarettes has the same effects as normal cigarettes; they as well have been known to cause cancer and other diseases. Here is why electronic cigarettes are just as bad for the human body as
Cigarette advertisements give the feeling that smokers are "bursting at the seams with joy" and that smoking is useful to you. Shockingly, nothing could be further from reality. The U.S. government has marked cigarettes as an unsafe medication that causes lung malignancy, coronary illness, and numerous different genuine sicknesses and conditions. Numerous individuals everywhere throughout the nation are discussing whether tobacco organizations ought to be permitted to publicize cigarettes or even to make cigarettes in today 's general public ("Analyzing Assorted Tobacco Advertisements").
Smoking is not only bad for health it is also as bad for the people
Lung cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Heart Disease, Stroke, Asthma Reproductive Effects in Women, Premature, Low Birth-Weight Babies, Diabetes, Blindness, Cataracts and Age- Related Macular Degeneration, do any of those sound appealing? Well, that’s the cause of smoking. When you smoke you cut your life short by 10 years or even more then that, so that’s a question why are they so easy to access? Why is their substitutes but are as just a dangerous? Anywhere you look you will probably see someone you don't know or even someone you know smoking a cigarette, and most the time it’s because they are addicted to them. So what’s in cigarettes? Why are people not worried about the outcomes of smoking, because it’s just lighting up, right? It’s just let me smoke this one then that’s it, I will quit? Right?