Global standards for vaping products essential to promote innovation

Quick Navigation

Jump to content Logo
Global standards for vaping products essential to promote innovation
News release

22 July 2016

Against a backdrop of a growing number of e-cigarette users globally*, British American Tobacco (BAT) is leading efforts to develop and harmonise standards around vaping products to further reassure consumers of these products potential in reducing the harm from smoking.

Marina Trani, Head of R&D of Nicoventures (a wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco ) will tell delegates at the EuroScience Open Forum 2016 on July 26th that standards need to be harmonised in order to promote innovation.  ‘Different rules in different jurisdictions make it overly burdensome and expensive, especially for smaller companies.  It stifles growth and innovation, which in turn could stifle the potential these products have for reducing the harm of smoking, she said.

The EU and the US, for example, are worlds apart in terms of how they regulate e-cigarettes. Draft regulations in the US (to be enacted in August) will require pre-approval before any change is made to a vaping product.  Whereas, the EU Tobacco Products Directive requires a less restrictive six month prior notification (rather than approval) for ‘substantial modification.’

There is a growing body of evidence that e-cigarettes are substantially safer than cigarettes. Kevin Fenton, Public Health England’s Director of Health and Wellbeing, recently said, ‘The wider body of evidence consistently finds that e-cigarettes are less harmful than smoking.’

British American Tobacco was the first tobacco company to launch an e-cigarette in 2013 and has been proactive in both developing the first voluntary product standard with the British Standards Institute (BSI), advocating for more harmonised standards and is currently actively contributing to the European standards development work.

BAT has taken a particular leadership position in toxicological risk assessment through the publication of its 2015 best practice guide for how to comply with that aspect of the BSI guidelines.  Dr Sandra Costigan, Principal Toxicologist at Nicoventures, explains how the guide helps to safety assess flavours for inhalation rather than ingestion. Costigan says ‘safe to eat is not the same as safe to inhale’ .The guide sets out a scientific rationale that will help determine if particular flavours can be used safely.

As Trani will reinforce at the ESOF, the vaping industry should continue on a journey towards standards that can protect consumers, increase understanding of next generation products, are clear and harmonized globally while not inhibiting innovation.

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY

Marina Trani will be presenting on the topic of global standards for vaping products during the panel session:
“Toxicant Detectives: The Chemical Innovation Race, Lifestyle Risks and the Role of Animal Experiments”
July 26, 2016 at 5:10 - 6:25 pm

For interviews, contact: Dr Marina Murphy, British American Tobacco; marina_murphy@bat.com, +44(0)7711150135

Discussion areas may include:
• How vaping products are currently assessed
• The public health implications of setting standards for vaping products
• How customers can be reassured that their e-cigarettes are safe
• Safety of eliquids & how flavours are developed
• Current regulations and how they could be harmonised

*According to Ernst & Young’s May 2016 report , “E-cigarettes: an emerging category,” the number of e-cigarette users in the seven examined countries grew by 86% to 5.1 million in 2015.

*According to the World Health Organisation’s 2006 Tobacco Atlas, the number of smokers globally will rise to between 1.5 and 2.2 billion by 2050.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Enquiries
Press Office
+44 (0) 20 7845 2888 (24 hours)

max
xlarge
large
medium
small
mobile