EUROPEAN DOCTORS ANNOUNCE THEIR OPINION ON NOVEL TOBACCO AND NICOTINE PRODUCTS
The Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) has adopted a new policy on novel tobacco and nicotine products. European doctors are highly concerned about the health risks of these products, and therefore call on policy makers to recognise that they are harmful.
CPME also calls on all doctors to inform their patients and all citizens about the health risks associated with these novel products and not to recommend them as a means to stop or cut down on smoking. Young people who have never smoked should be particularly protected. CPME therefore supports banning flavourings which increase the appeal of new products. Moreover, tax measures should be used to ensure that the cost of novel tobacco and nicotine products is maintained at a high level similar to that of conventional cigarettes.
“Novel products contain tobacco and/or nicotine, and are therefore addictive and harmful to health. We don’t recommend them as a means for helping smokers quit’’, says Prof. Dr Frank Ulrich Montgomery, CPME President.
CPME has updated its 2010 position paper on e-cigarettes because in recent years the industry has introduced a varied selection of novel products: heated tobacco products and electric nicotine delivery systems, of which electronic cigarettes are the most popular.