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Drafted legislation that would kill the electronic cigarette market came out in Israel for public review. The national legislator there (also called the Knesset) expects to vote on the bill in about 6 months. The bill itself would ban the sale of electronic cigarettes and all chemicals and liquids that might be used to fill them.

The bill and efforts by those to pass it remain focused on wild accusations about the potential harms of electronic cigarettes. The health ministry there, which proposed the bill, said that use of electronic cigarettes can be “even more dangerous” than smoking. Even nicotine itself is referred to as a “medical poison” in the proposal document.

You can read more on the story right here.

Israel is an interesting place for the electronic cigarette debate. The smoking rate there is around 20%, but only about 10 years ago, roughly 30% of males and 25% of females there were smokers. National efforts against tobacco have been a bit all over the place.

The country has extremely harsh anti-smoking measures which do everything from outlawing the placement of ashtrays indoors to fining business owners who don’t aggressively prevent smoking in their businesses. Meanwhile though, there is no age restriction on tobacco purchasing and despite taxes levied against tobacco cigarettes, they are comparatively cheaper than in other European countries. Just a few months ago, a bill to ban tobacco advertising in all print media failed to pass. The failure of that bill has been blamed on excessive lobbying by tobacco companies.

The proposal is ripe with questionable arguments against electronic cigarettes. According to the document, 7 minutes of e-cig use delivers around 24 milligrams of nicotine, compared to 1 milligram from tobacco products. The Health Ministry, which put the proposal together, warns that a leaking electronic cigarette is a “serious toxic risk” and points to the death of an infant in Israel in 2012. It even claims that Propylene glycol can result in poisoning. The article even says that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned the sale of e-cigs due to these dangers.

This is all either wildly inaccurate, misleading, or downright wrong. Delivery of nicotine from e-cigs is comparable to delivery from cigarettes. A leaking e-cig is not a serious toxic risk. While nicotine can be absorbed through the skin, many experts believe it actually takes quite a lot to cause significant harm. Details on the infant death from 2012 are lacking, but it appear she drank straight e-liquid — which, like many other adult products, can cause a severe reaction for a baby. Propylene glycol is generally considered safe for consumption and occurs in a lot of the things we use and consume. The US Food and Drug Administration has not banned e-cigs and is still currently deciding how best to regulate the products.

Six months to review and debate this bill is a long time. We hope this time is well spent.