Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Members of the Tamakisoz association categorically opposed the adoption of a bill that proposes to ban the circulation of electronic cigarettes (vapes) and heated tobacco in Uzbekistan. This is stated in a statement of the Association.

The statement says that in the “reasonable opinion” of members of the Association, the adoption of the bill will cause serious damage to the state, business and society.

The association noted that there is a huge scientific evidence base confirming that the consumption of vapes and heated tobacco carries significantly lower health risks for consumers compared to traditional smoking.

For example, the UK government health agency Public Health England has explicitly stated that: “available research shows that e-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than traditional cigarettes.” The Canadian government recognizes that vaping is less harmful than traditional smoking. The American Food Drug Administration (FDA) assigns heated tobacco a “Modified (Reduced) Risk” category.

“The country has already formed a stable community (persons over 21 years of age) of vaping consumers (more than 70 thousand people) and heating tobacco consumers (more than 110 thousand people). On what basis are adults deprived of their right to reduce harm to the health and health of others (due to the absence of the passive smoking factor) from smoking and consuming nasvay through the legal consumption of the products in question?” notes the Association.
 
“The authors of the bill in the explanatory note to it allow deliberate manipulation and incorrect presentation of facts. For example, it talks about the supposedly high level of consumption of electronic cigarettes in the UK (9.4%), which is presented as a negative example of the potential for growth in consumption of corresponding products. However, the explanatory note does not say anything about the level of smoking in the UK. So, in 2022 this level was 12.9%, while back in 2010 the level exceeded 20%. Thus, it is obvious that less harmful vaping has replaced significantly more harmful smoking, which directly proves the potential of electronic cigarettes (vapes) in reducing harm to public health from smoking,” the Association said in a statement.

The statement says that the explanatory note also states that a ban on the circulation of electronic cigarettes (vapes) is allegedly being considered in countries such as France, Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland and Germany. This thesis is absolutely false. As mentioned above, in the UK, vaping is considered at the government level as a less harmful alternative to smoking. In these countries, we are talking about a potential ban on only one type of electronic cigarettes (vapes): the so-called “disposable e-cigarettes”, for environmental reasons. Thus, the bill is directly based on false facts and information.

According to members of the Association, a ban on the circulation of vapes and heated tobacco in the country will inevitably lead exclusively to an increase in the illegal trade in these goods. Currently, the illegal trade in cigarettes is thriving in the country, which is also prohibited by law. There are also numerous international similar examples specifically regarding vaping. In Australia, where vapes can be purchased exclusively in pharmacies with a prescription, the number of vapers has reached 1.3 million people, while according to official data, only 10% of the above number purchased them with prescriptions from pharmacies. Thus, more than 1 million Australians purchase vapes illegally imported into the country that do not meet quality and safety standards.

Nicotine-containing liquid in electronic cigarettes (vapes) and heated tobacco are subject to excise taxation in Uzbekistan. In addition, several thousand people are currently employed in the production, import, delivery and sale of electronic cigarettes (vapes) and heated tobacco in the country, who will lose their jobs if the bill under consideration is adopted. Thus, in addition to the damage to public health and consumer interests described above, the bill, when implemented, will also damage the interests of legal businesses, as well as revenues to the state budget.

Members of the Tamakisoz Association are perplexed why legal and high-quality electronic cigarettes (vapes) and heated tobacco are the object of such close attention from the Ministry of Health, when in the country more than 2 million people consume artisanal nasvay, which, according to available research, contains almost not the entire periodic table.

The statement notes that the production, import and circulation of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco in the Republic of Uzbekistan is properly and comprehensively regulated by regulatory legal acts of varying legal force. There is a ban on the open display of these goods in retail establishments, and a limit has been set on the nicotine content in electronic cigarettes (vapes). Finally, the sale of electronic cigarettes (vapes) and heated tobacco to persons under 21 years of age is expressly prohibited.

The explanatory note focuses on the supposedly increased interest of minors in these products. However, the sale of both electronic cigarettes (vapes) and heated tobacco to such persons is already expressly prohibited by law.

“Members of the Tamakisoz association strictly control the retail sales of the products in question, preventing them from falling into the hands of persons under 21 years of age. Unfortunately, the media periodically publishes news about fights among minors using knives, but this does not lead to a ban on knives in the Republic of Uzbekistan, does it?” the statement notes.

Based on the above, the Tamakisoz association calls for preventing the adoption of the bill under consideration as being based on incorrect facts and insinuations, as well as a document the implementation of which will cause significant damage to public health, the interests of consumers, legal business and the state.

The Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan has published a bill banning the sale of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco systems.