“That the products are not exclusively used for medical purposes does not allow them to escape the definition of drug”, considered the Administrative Court of Appeal of Stockholm (Sweden), in a judgment rendered on March 5, 2015 concerning E-cigarette.
The e-cigarette, a medicine for the Swedes
“The pharmacological properties of the products are documented to the extent that the active nicotine component can be used to treat tobacco addiction,” she said.
It cannot therefore be sold without authorization from the National Medicines Agency and remains banned in Sweden. However, “it is quite possible that we are authorizing electronic cigarettes from a public health perspective,” said Martin Burman, a spokesperson for the Swedish Medicines Agency.
The e-cigarette regulations evolves very quickly and varies enormously between different European countries, ranging from those which do not impose any restrictions like Portugal to those which prohibit it like Switzerland.
A quarter of French people have already tried electronic cigarettes
Should the electronic cigarette be considered a medicine in France?
The official authorities have not decided in this direction for the moment and a quarter of people aged 15 to 75 years, or 1.3 million people, declare to have tried the e-cigarette. 3% of them vape daily.
Electronic cigarette in France: framed but not prohibited
For the French Academy of Medicine, the studies, although still incomplete, indicate that if the electronic cigarette should be monitored, it is also an opportunity because its use is accompanied by a significant drop in smoking in France.
Academics therefore recommend regulating the manufacture and distribution of e-cigarettes to ensure their reliability. Also, they maintain the prohibition of sale to minors, its use in public places and all advertising and promotion, except in its use as a method of stopping if the latter is recognized.
They do not intend to deter smokers who use it and promote the emergence of a “medicinal electronic cigarette” for products having a beneficial effect on health and made available to consumers. smokers who want to quit.
Read also :
– Electronic cigarette: the right manual
– Electronic cigarettes, more carcinogenic than tobacco?
