BRUSSELS: Belgium will ban the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes as of Jan. 1 on health and environmental grounds in a groundbreaking move for European Union nations.
Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke said the inexpensive e-cigarettes had turned into a health threat since they are an easy way for teenagers to be drawn into smoking and get hooked on nicotine.
“Disposable e-cigarettes is a new product simply designed to attract new consumers,” he said in an interview.
“E-cigarettes often contain nicotine. Nicotine makes you addicted to nicotine. Nicotine is bad for your health. These are fact,” Vandenbroucke added.
Because they are disposable, the plastic, battery and circuits are a burden on the environment. On top of that, “they create hazardous waste chemicals still present in what people throw away,” Vandenbroucke said.
The health minister said he also targeted the disposable e-cigarettes because reusable ones could be a tool to help people quit smoking if they cannot find another way.
Australia outlawed the sale of ” vapes” outside pharmacies earlier this year in some of the world’s toughest restrictions on electronic cigarettes. Now Belgium is leading the EU drive.
“We are the first country in Europe to do so,” Vandenbroucke said.
He wants tougher tobacco measures in the 27-nation bloc.
“We are really calling on the European Commission to come forward now with new initiatives to update, to modernize, the tobacco legislation,” he said.
There is understanding about Belgium’s decision, even in some shops selling electronic cigarettes, and especially on the environmental issue.
Once the cigarette is empty, “the battery is still working. That’s what is terrible, is that you could recharge it, but you have no way of recharging it,” said Steven Pomeranc, owner of the Brussels Vapotheque shop. “So you can imagine the level of pollution it creates.”
A ban usually means a financial loss to the industry, but Pomeranc said he thinks it will not hurt too much.
“We have a lot of alternative solutions which are also very easy to use,” he said. “Like this pod system, which are pre-filled with liquid, which can just be clipped into the rechargeable e-cigarette. So we will simply have a shift of clients toward this new system.”
Belgium will ban sales of disposable e-cigarettes in a first for the EU
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Belgium will ban sales of disposable e-cigarettes in a first for the EU
- The inexpensive e-cigarettes had turned into a health threat since they are an easy way for teenagers to be drawn into smoking and get hooked on nicotine
US signs $228m deal with Rwanda for health under new aid model
- Under the health deal, the US will provide up to $158 million to Rwanda to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other infectious diseases, the State Department said
- The health funding agreement comes a day after Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his Democratic Republic of the Congo counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, affirmed their commitment to a deal to end the conflict in eastern Congo
KIGALI: The US and Rwanda have signed a deal providing $228 million for the health sector in the East African nation, the State Department said, the second such pact under the US administration’s new approach to overseas aid.
Kenya became the first country this week to strike a deal with Washington under the “America First Global Health Strategy,” unveiled in September by the administration and aimed at improving target countries’ self-reliance in managing their health sectors.
The $228 million will be provided by both governments.
The Rwanda deal lays out “a comprehensive vision to save lives, strengthen Rwanda’s health system,” the State Department said, while helping to make America “safer.”
The health funding agreement comes a day after Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his Democratic Republic of the Congo counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, affirmed their commitment to a deal to end the conflict in eastern Congo.
Under the health deal, the US will provide up to $158 million to Rwanda to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other infectious diseases, the State Department said.
The cash will also strengthen disease surveillance and outbreak response.
“In turn, the government of Rwanda plans to increase its own domestic health investment by $70 million, taking on greater financial responsibility as US support is gradually reduced over the years,” the department said.
The agreement will also build on an initiative that sees drone-delivery startup Zipline taking lifesaving medical products where they are needed, in co-operation with Rwanda, the department said.
“The agreement underscores Rwanda’s ambition to build a self-reliant, adaptive, and technology-enabled health system,” said Oliver Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s foreign minister, after he signed the deal with US officials in Washington.
