Are Electronic E-Cigarettes Here To Stay?

Are E-Cigarettes here to stay?

We all know only too well that smoking tobacco is bad for us, there is only one probable outcome.Cancer rates in smokers exceed those for non smokers & are more severe. There has been a lot of press recently about the alleged dangers of e-cigarettes and potential safety concerns.Around the world, the tobacco industry continues to exercise considerable influence.

If our government truly had our interests foremost in their minds, they would save us from ourselves and ban cigarettes from sale in the UK. They have legislated in order to ‘save us’ from far less dangerous products and activities….. read about the possible benefits of e-cigarettes

In the UK we have a Government that is prepared to risk strangling industry with health and safety red tape in order to mitigate a small risk to workers, while at the same time ignoring the 100,000 annual deaths that are caused by smoking. Tobacco currently earns the Government £12.1 Billion annually, and that money would have to be found elsewhere if smoking was to be banned. It seems logical to therefore conclude that our Politicians will protect us from ourselves unless there is a powerful economic reason for not doing so.

It would be highly unlikely that e-cigarettes will escape regulation completely because with their use growing as rapidly as it is, being able to tax e-liquid must look very inviting to the Chancellor. Currently a bottle of e-liquid costs £4.99 and is the direct equivalent of about 200 cigarettes. 200 cigarettes would cost you £60 – £80 depending on your preferred brand, so the saving at present are significant. It is the smoking cessation industry that seems to be behind the majority of the anti e-cigarette press and publicity. The tobacco companies have remained quite quiet on the subject to date. It’s difficult to argue that a new product might not be 100% healthy when you are selling a product that is proven to kill people!

In order to effective tax e-liquid, the Government needs to be able to control its supply and regulation would make that possible. However, because it’s possible to make your own e-juice from high street ingredients, will this make e-cigarettes untaxable and therefore more likely to be banned?

So where does all this leave us? What is in store for e-cigarettes in the months and years to come? Will they become mainstream smoking devices or be banned by law and consigned to the annals of history? Time will tell. One thing is for certain, it won’t be health considerations that ultimately decide their fate but finance, taxation and business. It seems unlikely that e-cigarettes and vaporizers will escape regulation. This is mostly because they have the potential to significantly reduce the tobacco tax revenue the Government receives annually. If that revenue can’t be replaced, then regardless of whether e-cigs are less harmful or not, the financial implications of their usage would be to great to tolerate.