PARIS: Health experts fearing a clampdown on e-cigarettes said Friday a UN report on the device had exaggerated their health risk and underplayed their role as a safe alternative to tobacco.
The August 26 report by the UN’s World Health Organisation (WHO) said governments should ban the sale of so-called electronic cigarettes to minors, warning they posed a “serious threat” to unborn babies and young people.
The WHO report, to be considered at a global meeting on tobacco control this year, also said e-cigs should be banned from indoor public spaces. But tobacco specialists, writing in the journal Addiction on Friday, said the report was flawed. They said it was rooted in a bigger WHO-commissioned probe, the Background Paper on E-cigarettes, which they accused of bias and error.
“We were surprised by the negativity of the commissioned review, and found it misleading and not an accurate reflection of available evidence,” said Ann McNeill, a professor at the National Addiction Centre at King’s College London.
E-cigarettes work by vaporizing a liquid called propylene glycol, to which nicotine and flavoring have been added. The vapour is inhaled, like traditional cigarettes, but produces vapor instead of smoke.
The gadgets have been a huge hit with young people, who form part of a snowballing market worth about $3 billion (2.3 billion euros) annually, with more than 400 brands of flavours.
Supporters of e-cigs say the devices are a safer alternative to traditional tobacco, whose bouquet of toxic chemicals and gases cause cancer, heart disease, strokes and other ailments.
Opponents say the devices have only been around for a few years, and the long-term health impact from inhaling their industrial vapour is unclear.
The WHO report acknowledged that e-cigarettes were “likely to be less toxic” than conventional cigarettes, but more research was needed.
It also fretted that the proliferation of sweet flavours would become a “gateway to nicotine addiction” for the young.
The debate is unfolding as many governments are under pressure to impose regulations on e-cigs. At the moment, the worldwide situation is a patchwork, ranging from complete freedom of sale to bans on sales to minors or of e-cigs that contain nicotine.
The WHO failed “to acknowledge that e-cigarettes are not just less harmful than tobacco cigarettes but (also) that the concentrations of toxins are mostly a tiny fraction of what is found in cigarette smoke,” the authors of Friday’s commentary said.
UN report on e-cigarettes is flawed, say critics
UN report on e-cigarettes is flawed, say critics
Where We Are Going Today: Orenda Coffee Hub in Dhahran
- The Hasawi cookie was the highlight of my visit, and definitely something I would order again
In search of a hot beverage that you can hold like a hug for your hand as the winter weather cools? Try Orenda in Dhahran.
According to Dictionary.com, Orenda is defined as “an invisible magic power believed by the Iroquois people of North America to pervade all natural objects as a spiritual energy.”
While geographically far away from the land in which the word originated, the cafe has plenty of inspiration from local and global lands.
Their Hasawi cookies—caked with dates and a tiny bit of nuts and cardamom tucked within to give it texture and an elevated taste of neighboring Al-Ahsa—goes for SR 12. This was the highlight of my visit and I would definitely order again.
I tried it with a satisfying SR 16 cappuccino in a ceramic mug. Soft jazz played on the day of our visit. Plenty of natural light bathed the space with the giant windows and many people were typing on their laptops or scrolling on their phones in silence.
It has a perfectly quiet, perhaps even an orenda atmosphere.
While the weather is still pleasant, you can find many options for outdoor seating. There’s also an upstairs section, up a fun, winding green spiral staircase. Though no elevator was in sight, the bottom floor interior seems wide enough for a wheelchair.
If you do find yourself wandering up the second floor, you’ll find even more seating with an even cozier feel with decor reminiscent of a warm home.
Restrooms are situated on the next and final floor, up even more steps.
A prayer area can be found on the third floor too, along with a massive glass door leading into an outdoor space with tables and chairs aplenty.
Opened eight months ago, it remains the first and only branch in the Kingdom.
Because it seemed very popular, I ordered an iced Orenda matcha for the road, at SR 24. It was decent.
It is open from 6 a.m. until midnight daily, aside from Thursdays and Fridays when it closes at 1 a.m.
Follow them on @orendacoffee.sa.
