REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA  --  On July 6th, 2016, during the National Stakeholder Symposium on Electronic Cigarette in the UK, the British health advocacy executive institute, Public Health England, published a framework for the business and the companies as a cornerstone for the company’s policy regarding the use of electronic cigarettes in the work environment.

This framework is expected to encourage companies to evaluate the potential benefits and risks of electric cigarette consumption in each company prior to issuing policies related to electric cigarette. The presence of this framework is considered very important given the high number of electric cigarette consumer in the UK today which has reached 2.8 million.

The framework is considered by many parties as affirmation to the opinion which claims electric cigarette as safer alternative to conventional smoking.

In its press release, Public Health England Emphasizes the fundamental difference of the consumption of electric cigarettes and conventional cigarettes for both active smokers and passive smokers. Additionally, they also emphasized the lack of proof confirming electric cigarette as gateway of conventional smoking.

Health Experts from around the world offers warm welcome to the issuance of this framework, including Achmad Syawqie the founder of Indonesia Public Health Observer Institution who is currently conducting research related to the content and effects of the consumption of electric cigarette.

In an interview, Syawqie stated several studies have shown consumption of e-cigarette expose lower risk to both consumers and active smokers.  "As a pioneer, United Kingdom has proven that e-cigarette as reduced risk products possess the potential to act as solution against conventional smoking," Syawqie said.

Syawqie added that this framework can be a positive precedent for Indonesia in the future, "Many negative opinions against e-cigarette often disregard finding from scientific studies. Hopefully with this framework, everyone may be interested to assess electric cigarette more objectively".

Health Experts in other countries also expressed similar opinions. In June, Derek Yach, an international public health policies observer from South Africa, also wrote an article that emphasize the importance of the role of the Government to recognize the trend of reduced risk products such as electronic cigarette and its potential benefit to curb smoking.

Furthermore, Yach explained that if plain packaging policy can reduce mortality rate within the next 35-50 years, reduced risk product may be able to improve the quality of living for approximately one billion in the next 10-20 years.

However, to realize this goal, both the Government and WHO must first learn to embrace the concept and later promote the use of reduced risk products such as electronic cigarette.

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