EC policy in England in comparison with other countries

Policy approaches to EC differ widely across countries (from total prohibition to minimal regulations on sale and marketing) and are a topic of much debate Given their relative recency to the market the ideal regulatory approach is unclear and recently, individual countries have amended their policies in relation to EC to either further restrict their use or in the case of Canada and New Zealand, promote their use as safer alternatives to tobacco smoking. The US Food and Drug Administration announced actions to restrict the sale and marketing of EC to young people with particular focus on an EC pod product called JUUL. We examine the impact of regulations. First, we will present evidence from the UK on the early impact of the EU Tobacco Product Regulation on EC use and smoking, including how vapers are circumventing the regulations. We will also examine how regulations may be impacting relative risk perceptions of the products in the UK and elsewhere and early evidence of the roll out of the decision to lift a blanket ban on making health claims in non-broadcast EC advertising. The lack of a medicinal EC product will also be discussed. These findings will then be put in the global context.