Sale and promotion of smoking paraphernalia just got harder

Health campaigners have welcomed new laws regulating the e-cigarette industry and restricting the sale of tobacco and related products.

The health (tobacco, nicotine etc and are) bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament this week after years of campaigning by charities and anti-smoking groups.

It bans the sales of electronic cigarettes to under-18s, will create a national register of e-cigarette retailers, give new powers to the Scottish Government to regulate “domestic” e-cigarette advertising, such as billboards and bus ads, and make smoking in parts of hospital grounds an offence.

Sheila Duffy, chief executive of ASH Scotland, said: “I’m pleased to see this sensible, proportionate regulation passed today. Electronic cigarettes can have a part to play in reducing smoking.

“We need to help them play a positive role while keeping them out of the hands of children. We can’t lose sight of the most important issue in this discussion – reducing the enormous harm caused by tobacco use.

I’m pleased to see this sensible, proportionate regulation passed - Sheila Duffy

“It’s right that e-cigarettes are regulated. But the most restrictive regulation must always apply to the most harmful product, tobacco. While there is still more research required on the safety and effectiveness of e-cigarettes, it is clear that vaping is less harmful than smoking. Treating e-cigarettes like tobacco products could be counterproductive.

“I’m glad that smoke-free areas around hospitals have been backed. Hospitals should promote healthy behaviours, and this new law will help protect more people from smoke drift and put smoking out of sight, out of mind and out of fashion to help us reach a smoke-free Scotland by 2034.

“Doctors, nurses and patients have supported this proposal, and I’m delighted that MSPs do as well.”