E-cigs to be legalized

The Seychelles is to legalize the use of electronic cigarettes with a new regulation that will place ‘alternative nicotine products’ (ANDs) under the country’s tobacco control law, following the approval of Cabinet Ministers, according to a Seychelles News Agency story.

Bharathi Viswanathan, program manager within the Prevention and Control of Cardiovascular Diseases unit at the Seychelles Hospital, was said to have told the news agency that currently all ANDs were banned in the Seychelles.

But the agency reported that, under the new regulation, ANDS would be classified as tobacco products so that nearly all provisions in the Seychelles tobacco control law would extend to their manufacture, distribution, sale and use.

ANDs were not on the market when the Seychelles’ first Tobacco Control Act was drafted in 2009, said Viswanathan; so amending the law would ensure that a ‘framework’ existed for consumers and sellers. Under the new regulation, sellers would need a license.

Viswanathan said that the only difference in treatment of traditional tobacco products and ANDs would be in respect of labeling. The warning labels would not be the same as those on cigarette packaging, but the details were still being worked out.

Presumably, ANDs warning labels will reflect the comparative risks because Viswanathan said that ANDs comprised a good option to help smokers who wanted to quit smoking.

“It is a good way to help smokers quit the habit and it is also less detrimental to health as it contains less nicotine and other harmful substances found in real cigarettes,” she said.