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Public health officials and regulators who have battled for years against smoking may be inadvertently bolstering the tobacco market with their strong stand against e-cigarettes, some financial analysts say.

While certain experts view the products as a potentially game-changing safe alternative to smoking, many health organizations have warned of their possible dangers. Canada’s federal government effectively outlaws nicotine-containing versions of the devices.

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The drum beat of opposition seems to have picked up in recent weeks, with public-health agencies in Ontario and B.C. recommending crackdowns on e-cigarettes, worrying they could normalize smoking or act as gateways to tobacco itself.

That kind of “highly suspicious” approach may be having unintended consequences, suggests a new report to investors from Germany’s Berenberg bank.

Regulators have reinforced the position of [conventional] cigarettes for many consumers

The three London-based analysts who wrote the review say they are “more bullish on global tobacco than ever,” citing a variety of factors. One is that the threat to conventional cigarettes from e-cigarettes seems to be shrinking, partly because public-health officials are casting doubt on their safety and restricting their use.