A week is a long time in politics, and also in public health.
Last Thursday advocates of vaping were celebrating a report by the Royal College of Physicians that found that:
... e-cigarettes are likely to be beneficial to UK public health. Smokers can therefore be reassured and encouraged to use them, and the public can be reassured that e-cigarettes are much safer than smoking.
The online vaping community was delighted, naturally. I wrote about it here but added a word of caution, pointing out that "vapers still face numerous threats and obstacles, just like smokers before them":
Tobacco control campaigners are fickle and the war between opposing camps – one 'pro-vaping', the other 'anti' – could go either way.
Worse, this is a global battle that's unlikely to be settled by what happens in the UK. For example, the imposition of the EU's Tobacco Products Directive which restricts the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes is a few weeks away.
That's going to have a significant impact on the e-cigarette industry yet the UK government has been powerless (or unwilling) to oppose the new regulations.
This week the e-cigarette company Totally Wicked lost its legal challenge to the European Court of Justice which means the EU has been given the green light to ban e-cigarette advertising and there will also be various restrictions on the manufacture, sale and marketing of e-cigs.
On top of that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in America has today announced it is to assume regulatory authority over e-cigarettes.
Fighting 'public health' is a rollercoaster of emotions and as I write vaping advocates are in meltdown.
Some are even trying their hands at 'satire' which neither works nor suits them, if I'm honest (NNA would like to congratulate the tobacco industry).
My advice? Don't throw your toys out of the pram just yet. At the very least sleep on it. Things are always better in the morning.