The directors’ unanimous decision vetoed the production, import and sale of vaporizers
The collegial council of National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) decided unanimously, on the afternoon of Friday 19th, maintain the ban on the production, import and sale of electronic cigarettes, also known as vaporizers. The agency’s five directors voted to approve a resolution confirming the ban on the product in the country.
The rapporteur of the proposal at the agency and president of Anvisa, Antônio Barra Torres, closed the siege against electronic cigarettes even further. Barra Torres indicated a series of recommendations for create a type of public policy to combat electronic smoking devicesincluding the possibility of the topic being included in the primary and secondary school curriculum.
The ban even prevents travelers from carrying e-cigarettes in their luggage. Users are also prohibited from smoking these cigarettes in enclosed public settings.
“It constitutes our duty and commitment towards science, respecting Anvisa’s mission. Request public has brought no scientific facts or arguments that could alter the weight of the evidence already ratified,” he said.
The rapporteur’s vote listed 27 recommended actions to combat these devices, including the Ministry of Health, Education and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, as well as subnational bodies. Among the measures, the agency highlights the need to carry out educational campaigns; developing an intelligence strategy to remove e-cigarette websites, promotions and advertisements on the Internet. Anvisa even indicates the opening of investigations to investigate and punish the authors of the advertisements.
Directors Danitza Buvinich, Daniel Pereira, Rômison Mota and Meiruze Freitas follow the speaker’s vote. During her vote, Danitza said the product could increase the risk of young people entering the market to smokeciting data from countries that currently allow the product.
The directors also highlighted the lack of evidence showing that these devices are less harmful than traditional cigarettes and said that the product could damage public anti-smoking policy.
“The current position of the government, expressed by Ministry of Healthindicates that the regulation of electronic smoking devices constitutes a contradiction with public tobacco control policies in the country and could even represent an obstacle to the progress achieved by Brazil in recent decades,” said Pereira.
After the vote of the agency’s president, director Rômison Mota supported greater rigor in supervision. “It is necessary to intensify the monitoring of the illegal trade and use of these products in closed collective spaces,” Mota said.
Meiruze Freitas said Brazil is experiencing a public health problem related to the use of these devices. And she said the use of e-cigarettes is a “dangerous trend” and that these products cannot be promoted as a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes.
“We must communicate clearly that e-cigarettes, especially disposable ones, contain nicotine, often in high concentrations, which is a highly addictive substance; that the brains of young people and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to addiction; that nicotine It has a detrimental effect on the developing brain, especially in adolescence,” he explained.
At the beginning of the meeting, Anvisa showed demonstrations by representatives of organizations and citizens who took a position for or against maintaining the ban. On this occasion, the position of the Ministry of Health was illustrated.
“Both e-cigarettes and conventional tobacco cigarettes pose a health risk and should not be consumed by the population. To date, there is no evidence that e-cigarettes protect or replace regular cigarettes,” said Leticia Cardoso, from Department of epidemiological analysis and surveillance. of Non-Communicable Diseases of the Ministry of Health.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the National Council of Municipal Health Secretariats (Conasems) were against the release of the product. Even revered doctors such as Margareth Doltremo and Drauzio Varella sent videos calling for the ban to be maintained.
The managers’ decision followed the opinion expressed by the agency’s technical area. Previously, the general director of the Registration and Inspection of Tobacco Products, Stefânia Piras, had presented the position of the sector and stated that there were no concrete contributions to change the position on the topic.
Between December last year and February this year, Anvisa carried out a public consultation on the use of e-cigarettes. 13,930 people, including natural and legal persons, participated in the procedure. At the time, 58% of participants thought the regulations would have negative impacts. Of the total submission, the agency received approximately 850 submissions to amend the resolution, of which only seven were validated, but did not make a central change to the rule.
The topic has already been explored in depth by Anvisa previously. In 2009, the agency decided to ban the sale, importation and advertising of the product. Ten years later, in 2019, a regulatory process was opened on the topic. Friday’s decision will conclude the reevaluation of the rules regarding electronic cigarettes.
Since 2019 Anvisa has created a series of queries to experts in the field. The agency relied on independent opinions regarding the product and even issued warnings about the safety of e-cigarettes after adverse events were recorded WE.
The entity celebrates the decision; the producer criticizes
After Anvisa formed a majority to maintain the country’s vape ban, the NGO ACT Promoção da Saúde, which works to promote public health policies, particularly in tobacco control, said it “supports Anvisa’s decision” and stressed that the new resolution “is in line with current scientific evidence” that electronic smoking devices “are harmful to health, addictive and have no proven benefit to public health”.
In the note, the ACT specifies that “the nicotine contained in many models of electronic cigarettes is in the form of nicotine salt, capable of rapidly promoting the onset of addiction in users and enhancing its negative effects on the body”.
According to Mônica Andreis, director general of the institution, “Anvisa’s decision is important as it reiterates the fact that so far there is no evidence to justify a change to allow the sale of these products, the risk of overloading the healthcare system and the creation of a generation of young smokers is high.”
Philip Morris Brasil, a company that produces tobacco products, said that maintaining the ban on e-cigarettes “is out of step with the uncontrolled growth of the illicit market, which has proven accessible to around 4 million Brazilians who use daily a product without any quality control”.
The company also said that the certified electronic devices “are already sold in more than 80 countries” and that “results released by several health agencies around the world demonstrate that they may pose fewer risks than conventional cigarettes.”
He also stated that “it is clear that progress has been made in combating the use of conventional cigarette are due to a non-prohibitive regulatory model, such as the one defined and applied by Anvisa, which has led to a substantial decrease in the number of smokers in Brazil, as well as being a model celebrated and recognized worldwide”.
The Brazilian Tobacco Industry Association said “the ban does not protect Brazilian consumers from the lack of control of the illicit market” and said the decision ignores the experience of 80 countries where the product is authorized. The entity also demands that the National Congress and the Federal Government expand the debate on the topic and seek modern legislation.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
