Proposed WHO Regulation Of E-Cigarettes To Hurt Nascent Industry
From: BidnessEtc
The World Health Organization is looking to regulate e-cigarettes in the same way as traditional tobacco products, which will hurt the multi-billion-dollar industry as new players will think twice before entering it
By Troy Kuhn
Altria Group Inc (MO), Reynolds American Inc (RAI), Lorillard Inc (LO), and British American Tobacco PLC (BTI) will likely be revisiting their decision to enter the e-cigarette industry, as the World Health Organization reportedly plans to regulate e-cigarettes in the same way traditional tobacco products are. The planned regulation comes in light of fears that tobacco usage will “renormalize” as more people start using e-cigarettes, and that current antismoking laws like advertising bans would be undermined.
The regulation would lead to e-cigarettes being treated as normal cigarettes and subject to the same laws as traditional tobacco products. E-cigarette manufacturers will not be allowed to advertise and will have to pay huge excise duties, and e-cigs will not be allowed to be used in public.
According to the Financial Times, the WHO is eager to categorize electronic cigarettes as tobacco under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The FCTC is a WHO treaty under which governments are obliged to cut smoking rates around the world.
