Ann McNeill.pdf

Ann McNeill, Professor of Tobacco Addiction, comments on the inquiry into electronic cigarettes and personal vaporisers in Australia, based on her research and reviews of evidence. She believes e-cigarettes contribute to reducing smoking by preventing young people from taking up smoking, encouraging smokers to stop, and supporting those who cannot stop to reduce harm. Evidence from the UK and elsewhere shows e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking, and they are reaching those untouched by other tobacco control approaches. McNeill notes that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than tobacco cigarettes, and it is unethical to withhold them from smokers. She discusses international approaches to regulation, suggesting a balance is needed to make e-cigarettes effective substitutes for tobacco smoking while avoiding use by adolescents and never-smokers. McNeill recommends exempting nicotine-containing e-cigarettes from the poisons standard in Australia, citing the need to reduce health inequalities caused by smoking.