How Ministry of Health and Jamaica Customs Agency e-cigarette Mix-up hints at Prescription e-cigarettes

Since the Ban on Smoking Cigarettes and tobacco products in public was introduced on Tuesday June 25^th 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 15^th, 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 9^th 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 11^th 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”.