“While integrating some observations made by Anafe into his final opinion, the Scheer Committee Report (Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and emerging risk) advisory body of the European Commission, continued to have a conservative and maximum precautionary approach, as well as analyzing the effects of vaping only in absolute terms, without making a comparison with traditional cigarettes, which still today are the cause of about 700,000 deaths every year in the European Union “. This was stated by Adnkronos Salute Umberto Roccatti, president of Anafe Confindustria – National association of electronic smoke producers.
“The conclusions of the report – adds Roccatti – are still too partial if we consider that almost all the data and the scientific bases referred to come from the US market, where the regulation is extremely less stringent than the European one and where the consumption habits of such products have evolved in a significantly different way compared to the Old Continent. In Europe, in fact, the electronic cigarette has already been recognized by some authorities, first of all by those of British public health, as a valid tool for the cessation. Therefore, in consideration of this chaos of information, in recent days we have decided to promote together with Liaf (Italian Anti-Smoking League) the petition on Change.org “Smoking or Vaping: I have the right to an informed choice”. Among the objectives of the initiative: to defend the right of citizens to have correct and exhaustive information on electronic cigarettes “.
“The conclusions produced by Scheer – confirms Riccardo polosa, founder of the CoEHAR International Research Center for Smoking Harm Reduction of the University of Catania – surprisingly omit any scientific assessment of smoking harm reduction and demonstrate the Commission’s failure to comply with all basic rules of sharing and listening. Thousands of scientific studies have already shown that, for those who cannot quit smoking on their own, Switching to non-combustion products reduces smoke related damage by up to 95%. We know that for those suffering from certain pathologies, such as arterial hypertension, diabetes, BPCO and even schizophrenia, switching to electronic devices is the most effective solution to reduce and completely stop smoking “.
“We know – Roccatti points out – that the percentage of Italians who turn to the National Health Service to get help to quit smoking is irrelevant, just 0.1% of the total, 0.05% every year succeeds. This is why the EU’s plan to fight cancer, which among the objectives has the reduction of the percentage of smokers within the European Union from 25% to 5% by 2040, risks remaining unattainable if it is not helped. , for those smokers who are unable or unwilling to quit, through reduced-risk products such as the electronic cigarette. In fact, we believe that the e-cig is the tool to achieve mass cessation from smoking and tobacco and we ask that the health authorities support the reduced risk approach as a second level tool, after assisted cessation practices, which we know are aimed at a very small number of smokers, and we ask financial institutions not to hinder this. path ”, he concludes.