UAE Considers Lifting Ban On Vaping

In the United Arab Emirates, electronic cigarettes are banned. However, there’s now a chance that the ban could be lifted in light of a review being conducted by the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology – a government consumer watchdog which goes by “Esma” for short.

As The National reports, Esma is currently conducting a review of data pertaining to alternative tobacco products in order to determine whether or not the ban on e-cigarettes in the country should be lifted.

If their analysis of the available data reaches a similar conclusion to that of Public Health England, it would seem as if there’s a good chance that the ban could be lifted, potentially leaving manufacturers of electronic cigarettes and similar vaping devices in a position to capitalize on the UAE marketplace.

In England, e-cigarettes have risen quickly to become the most popular smoking cessation around, which is perhaps no surprise in light of the government’s apparent science-based position on e-cigarettes.

Earlier this year, Public Health England, which is a part of the United Kingdom’s public healthcare system, released the findings of an independent evidence review carried out by experts which found electronic cigarettes to be around 95% less harmful than conventional cigarettes.

In the aftermath of PHE’s findings, public health officials in England have gone as far as to recommend vaping in hospitals.