Sir, Matt Ridley’s piece railing against the impending EU-wide regulation of e-cigarettes will probably resonate with the views of much of the scientific community who are keen for policies to strike a balance between harms and benefits, as informed by careful study (“No smoke without fire in this EU nightmare”, Opinion, Sept 28).
The EU seems to have taken on trust the views of prominent e-cigarette opponents rather than heeding the evidence and analysis of a large swathe of the scientific community (the vast majority of whom, contrary to some claims, have no financial conflict of interest). The EU directive could be worth billions to the tobacco industry by stifling competition from devices that, while not fully safe, could rival their deadly products.