UAE Could Lift Ban on Electronic Cigarettes

The authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are reviewing available information about the potential benefits of novel tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, with a view to lifting the ban on those products in case the review concludes that they will bring public health benefits to the smokers in the country. ESMA (Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology) is the government consumer watchdog charged with the responsibility of conducting that data review. Industry players like Philip Morris International have welcomed the review saying that they are willing to work with the authorities in order to create conditions that avail needed products without creating any additional risks. Will the UAE think carefully about the challenges that the U.S. FDA is facing in trying to curb teen vaping as it ponders whether to open its borders to electronic cigarettes?