International regulation on E-cigarettes: should SA follow the US and UK?
Dr Jack van Zyl, senior medical adviser at Sanlam.
Sooner or later South Africa will follow the lead of countries like the US and UK where laws governing e-cigarettes are more in line with that governing traditional cigarettes. Yet, the ‘fight’ against e-cigarettes should be cautiously approached, argues Dr Jack van Zyl, senior medical adviser at Sanlam.
”While there are definite advantages to increasing regulation against e-cigarettes, we still don’t yet know exactly how harmful they are as no long-term as no studies have yet been concluded on e-cigarette smoking. We do, however, know that the majority of e-cigarettes contain nicotine in liquid form and various chemicals, some of which are used to vaporise the liquid. While they may have a low dose of nicotine, this remains is a highly addictive substance, best avoided.”
E-cigarettes, Dr Van Zyl says, are ultimately still toxic and can most certainly increase your risk of cancer and other serious illnesses like heart disease and stroke.
He notes a theory that there is a strong likelihood that someone who starts smoking by using e-cigarettes, will later move on to smoke traditional cigarettes.
South African insurers are unable to determine which e-cigarette brands are indeed nicotine-free, and therefore classify users of all e-cigarettes as smokers. Dr van Zyl says there is also a significant chance that e-cigarette users may take up regular cigarettes again. “However, none of our underwriting policies are cast in stone. If it is scientifically shown that e-cigarettes do not increase users’ risks of contracting dread diseases such as cancer, insurers will certainly relook policies and pricing models.”
Despite this, the use of e-cigarettes is definitely preferable to traditional cigarette smoking, he argues. “It is always better not to smoke. But the health risks associated with e-cigarettes are almost certainly lower as they don’t contain tar and many of the other chemicals in cigarettes.
