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| Turning e-cigarettes into the new heroin |
It's interesting how vocabulary changes when a product is banned. ("Seizures soar as new tobacco ban nears", March 10).
No longer are e-cigarettes "sold" they are now "trafficked" and the product is "illicit". E-cigarettes are not "worth" a certain amount, they now "have a street value", just like heroin. There are "syndicates" operating, "smugglers" stockpiling product and "seizures" of "contraband". Innocent folks seeking a less harmful way to consume nicotine (a substance that is not illegal, let us recall) will be will be "in possession" and liable to jail.
Such idiocy! To stigmatise a product that has been found beneficial in reducing tobacco cigarette consumption. The research is done and the judgment is in: e-cigarettes help reduce harm. As a result, they are legal in every country in Europe, in the US, in Australia, New Zealand and — as the article itself notes — "is very popular in nearby countries". Quite. Because these countries have not lost their marbles. They are able to weigh competing harm, note that the harm of tobacco cigarettes is vastly more than e-cigarettes and let adults make their own decisions.
Meantime however, the Customs department says that it "…. spares on effort in combating illicit heat-not-burn products". How about a bit less effort on this and more on stopping really harmful illicit trade in elephant tusks, rhinoceros horn and shark fins?
I'm not a smoker so I have no dog in this fight. But it strikes me as yet another silly government decision, along with other recent flops: destroying a world-famous golf course at Fanling, and bowing to the thuggish taxi owners in banning Rideshare services.
"Asia's World City"? You must be kidding! It's getting increasingly embarrassing, Ms Lam
Pf, etc...
