20 Nov, 2014 @ 09:00
1 min read

Spanish smokers shun ‘magic wand’ e-cigarettes

IN the past year the number of shops selling electronic cigarettes has decreased by 90% following lobbying by pharmaceutical companies and industry experts.

The number of shops stocking vapour sticks has fallen from more than 3,000 to barely 300. Vice president of the country’s national e-cigarettes association, Alejandro Rodriguez laments ‘smear campaigns’ against the product.

He said: “There has been a very intense attack by pharmaceutical companies which has generated bad publicity in the media.”

Companies such as GlaxoSmithKline want to regulate e-cigarettes and introduce medical regulations while the World Health Organisation said their potential health risk ‘remains undetermined’.

One shopkeeper who stocks the device said that the problem is largely because of the number of stores in competition.

He said: “There was a boom for the product here, people thought it was a magic wand for giving up smoking and no, this wasn’t the case.

“It seemed like the market was infinite and there would be enough for everyone, and we can’t deny that many of our clients have gone back to normal tobacco, although nobody is going to admit it.”

Governments worldwide have struggled with how to regulate e-cigarettes and Spain has already banned their use in public places like hospitals and schools.

Supporters claim they are a safer alternative to regular cigarettes and can be used to help smokers quit.

Jacqueline Fanchini (Reporter)

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9 Comments

  1. I hope every Anti-ecig Activist is taken to court for the crimes they committed.
    Also
    Why is the smear campaign against e-cig not reported. I think that every negative report has been debunked long ago.

    Money of course. Pharma did not invent this product and is not making money of it. They want the product of the market or made medical so they can make a profit on it.

    The government probably also wants these products gone. Losing to much tax money.

    Because they know that these products work and are safer then smoking.

    • The government is actually saving money because less smokers means less hospital treatments. But are e-cigs any safer than conventional cigarettes? Some health experts say no. I hope all cigarettes are banned in all public places, e-cigs included.

  2. It’s annoying to be in an establishment where smoking is banned, yet e-cig smokers think they can bypass the law. Either smoking is banned or it isn’t. We shouldn’t have these “grey areas”

  3. “can be used to help smokers quit”. That is an excuse to carry on. If people want to pack in smoking then stop smoking. Smokers come up with a wide array of excuses why they can not or do not want to stop smoking, and smokers do not realize how offensive they smell when they sit near you, their clothes stink of stale smoke.

    • Well Stefanjo by your reply it would appear you don’t know the reason and possibly everyone else are in the same boat. The smoking ban was NOT started because of health reasons but MONEY reasons and not by the government, so don’t believe everything you read. I could enlighten you further as to who started the ban and why but it’s not written in stone.
      As you well know Stef there are lots of things the public are totally unaware of and only believe what they have read including you, academics, and newspaper reporters who only report what they have been told. Is that facetious enough for you.

  4. No Erick, as you correctly say, Big Pharma didn’t invent e-cigs. A Chinese guy called Hon Lik did that. he was bought off for a relatively derisory amount, the patents ending up with U.K. Imperial Tobacco.
    You might consider that preferable to Big Pharma? Really? So now we have a huge tobacco company continuing to supply one of the worlds most addictive and profitable substances. Granted, most of the crap has been filtered out of the old delivery systems (cigarettes). No company really wants to slaughter two-thirds of it’s customers, it just wants to keep them coming back for more. So now the ideal scenario exists. The punters can can continue in their delusional “pleasure”. Big Tobacco can pay it’s directors obscene amounts. Governments will be able to take their whack and thousands of shops, market stalls and on-line suppliers can make a bob or two. If all else fails, the fools will still be addicted and will turn to tobacco for relief. It’s win win!
    What a waste!

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