A motion at a meeting of the British Medical Association Scotland will call for the Scottish Government to introduce severe restrictions on where e-cigarettes can be used and sold.
The full motion reads:
That this conference is concerned at the current lack of regulation of electronic cigarettes and, whilst welcoming the decision by the MHRA to regulate electronic cigarettes as a medicine, calls on the Scottish Government to:
i. include e-cigarettes within the products banned from use in enclosed public places
ii. prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to those under 18 years
iii. ensure that e-cigarettes are only displayed for sale alongside other nicotine replacement therapies.
The Scotsman asked me for a response, which I was happy to provide. See: Call for ban on e-cigarettes in public places (Scotsman)
Amusingly, someone called Barry Lees has commented:
"Every time there's a story on the go about tobacco, the media fall over themselves to get a hold of Simon Clark as though he's some kind of medical expert ...
I posted this on Twitter and added:
No, just an advocate of choice working for a group with a 35-year history of defending consumer rights.
Meanwhile someone else tweeted:
The problem is this associates vaping with smoking in the public mind. Could Simon not refer enquiries to ECCA [Electronic Cigarette Consumer Association]?
To which I replied:
So ECCA can tell journalists e-cigs can "rid the world of tobacco" (and smokers)?
I then linked to a post I wrote a couple of months ago:
While Forest supports the development of e-cigs and other nicotine delivery systems because we are committed to choice, ECCA, their allies and their cheerleaders in the blogosphere sound more like Tobacco Control every day.
If ECCA wants to promote vaping in that manner so be it but don't expect Forest to help by directing the media in their direction.
We've got our own message and it doesn't involve ridding the the world of tobacco.