Since
the Ban on Smoking Cigarettes and tobacco products in public was introduced on
Tuesday June 25th 2013 by the Ministry of Health as detailed in my blog article
entitled “Adventists
want Ban on Vehicle Pollution as Smoking Ban looms on Saturday July 15 2013 -
Dr. Fenton Ferguson's Escape Plan leads”, there has been much confusion in
the Public’s eye on their stance on Electronic Cigarettes.
JCA
(Jamaica Customs Agency) declared that they'd been instructed to Ban electronic
Cigarettes or e-Cigarettes base on a directive from the MOH (Ministry of
Health) as stated in the article “Electronic
cigarettes imports blocked”, Published Monday September 15, 2014 4:44 pm,
The Jamaica Gleaner and “Electronic
cigarettes banned”, published September 16, 2014 by Bjorn Burke, Staff
Reporter, The Jamaica Star.
It
had been effectively “banned” since September 2013 when the Director of Communications
at the Ministry of Health, Stephanie Shaw, in an interview with The Jamaica Star made reference to Section
12 of the Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations 2013, quote: “Every
person who smokes or holds a lit or electronic tobacco product in or within a
five metre radius of the entrance, exit, window or ventilation intake of a
public place, workforce or public conveyance, including but not limited to any
place listed in the Second Schedule, commits an offence”.
This
effectively meant that e-cigarettes were banned, based on a simple cursory
reading of that section of the Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations
2013, which also works in tandem with Section 13 and Section 14. The changes
made to the Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations 2013 are guided by the
World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005.
So
although it’s in The Jamaica Star, this
was big news folks and was expected since September 2013!
Jamaica Bans
e-cigarettes – MOH taking a lede from the US FDA on e-cigarettes
This
Ban became date effective Monday September 15th, 2014 and was
alledgedly based on the fact that the directive from the MOH indicated that there
was a lack of supporting information on the safety of Electronic Cigarettes.
Good
to note here I’m firmly anti-smoking and I don’t support e-cigarettes.
However,
I’m also a pragmatist; in my eyes e-cigarettes are currently the lesser of two
evils, the other being direct tobacco smoking. This is because of the reduced
risk of second hand smoke affecting those in the environment around you a view
cited in the article “No
Smoking! Vape pens, e-cigarettes substituted”, published Tuesday, February
04, 2014 3:46 PM, The Jamaica
Observer.
When
I first heard the news I though “well, it’s finally happened”, as it would
appear that the MOH was apparently following the lead of the US FDA (Food and
Drug Administration) which had decided to regulate the thus far unregulated
industry of e-cigarettes.
This
after a study conducted by a team at Boston University led by Genomics and Lung
Cancer researcher Dr. Avrum Spira published in the Journal Nature on Wednesday
April 9th 2014, indicated that E-Cigarettes were not as safe as
explained in my Geezam blog article
entitled “US
FDA to finally Regulate E-Cigarettes as Boston Study indicates they cause Lung
Cancer”.
This
despite its potential to introduce Marijuana smoking by proxy as is the case
with the Dutch company e-NJoint B’s electronic Marijuana joint, the E-Njoint as
explained in my Geezam blog article
entitled “Dutch
company E-Njoint BV develops world's first electronic Marijuana joint, the
E-Njoint”.
Especially
as since Monday March 11th 2013 there has been a CAF (Customs
Administration Fee) on all tobacco products as stated in my Geezam blog article entitled “Jamaican
use of E-Cigarettes usage set to rise as CAF placed on Tobacco Products”
and a Ban on the importation of Tobacco products effectively.
Then
it got complicated when the MOH decided to finally clear the smoke, pun so
obviously intended!
e-cigarettes not banned
- Jamaica Customs Agency misinterpreted the MOH’s Regulatory Reminder
First,
it was a mistake on the part of the trigger-happy JCA, which the Ministry of
Health quickly reversed, much to the delight of the Carrerras Group as noted in
the article “Health
Ministry lifts Ban on electronic cigarettes, Carreras pleased”, Published
Tuesday September 16, 2014 6:05 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner
Apparently
the JCA had received a directive from the ministry of Health but not what they
acted upon as stated in “Health Ministry
clarifies position on e-cigarettes”, published Wednesday September 17, 2014
9:18 am, The Jamaica Gleaner.
According
to Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Kevin Harvey in a
clarification letter to The Jamaica
Gleaner entitled “We
told Customs no such thing”, Published Friday September 19, 2014, The Jamaica Gleaner, the JCA was issued
a reminder that under the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations, individuals and
entities that decided to import products containing Nicotine have to be
registered and a permit granted before those good would be cleared for entry
into the island. Once compliant, e-cigarettes could be imported into the
island.
But
that sounds like a contradiction to what September 2013 when the Director of
Communications at the Ministry of Health, Stephanie Shaw, in an interview with The Jamaica Star. She had effectively said
that any form of smoking was banned.
So
how could e-cigarettes be allowed, even though they contained Nicotine and the
act of using them was effectively smoking while regular cigarette importation, understandably,
remains banned?
It
should logically follow that they BOTH be banned as they are both products that
contains Nicotine and are used in a manner typical of a cigarette i.e. the
generate smoke or water vapour, which the research of Genomics and Lung Cancer
researcher Dr. Avrum Spira shows can STILL cause lung cancer as stated in my blog article
entitled “Boston
University Study indicates E-Cigarettes can cause Lung Cancer - Carcinogenic
Second Hand Vapour-Nicotine Aerosol as Marijuana E-Cigarettes Light up”.
Good
to not also in his letter that Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of
Health Kevin Harvey indicted that no-one was currently registered to import
e-cigarettes. So how was it that e-cigarettes were being imported all this time
WITHOUT being registered and a permit granted?
It
appears that the MOH, realizing that the current provisions in the Public
Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations 2013 don't actually cover e-cigarettes, being
as they're NOT cigarettes.
Registration
is already effectively in place for Nicotine gum and patches, but these are
only available via pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies in Jamaica i.e. you have
to have a prescription to get them, as theses are aids for smokers to quit
smoking. Thus via policy directives, they're trying to control their
importation via the imposition of a registration and permit system, which
undoubtedly carries with a hefty fine if it's not adhered.
MOH and Medicinal
Marijuana – E-cigarettes will only be available on prescription
Thus
I predict the next move of the MOH is to either Ban them outright as they are
indeed in contravention of the Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations
2013. Or the MOH might declare them a Health device for smoker to use to quit smoking
and thus only available via prescription.
Especially
as e-cigarettes can now use Marijuana cartridges, making it possible to smoking
Marijuana right under the GOJ's noses and not get caught, Marijuana for
medicinal uses being something that the Minister of Health Dr. Fenton Ferguson
has publicly supported as stated in my blog article
entitled “Dr.
Fenton Ferguson want Marijuana Medicine – Pharmaceutical Marijuana means big
Profits and Taxes for the GOJ”.
This
as in liquid form it's less than 5 oz and is thus not an arrestable offence as
noted in my blog
article entitled “Minister
of Justice Mark Golding Marijuana Decriminalization by September 2014 – Ras
Puddler’s Cultivation not possible as Ganja High upgraded to Ganja University”.
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