There is an important point I would like to make about that. Not medicalizing e-cigarettes is critical. It's hard enough for a patient to get an appointment with their doctor. So I think it would be a mistake to force people to go to their doctors to get a prescription for an e-cigarette. I have no problem with e-cigarettes being sold in a pharmacy, but there again, the availability of time comes into play. We deal with a certain number of shops in Montreal where the staff seem to take what they do seriously because they take the time to explain to smokers how to use e-cigarettes properly. Will pharmacists always have the time to do the same? There are no guarantees. It is not a big mystery. An expert or a doctor doesn't have to be the one explaining how to use e-cigarettes. It can be handled just fine by someone who takes the time necessary to provide the information.
Another very important thing to remember is that hard-core smokers need access to some consultation. Unfortunately, how many of our patients, when buying e-cigarettes today, are told by the salesperson not to use the product while chewing gum, sucking on a mint or lozenge, or wearing a nicotine patch because it's dangerous? The nicotine receptors in a smoker's brain are much smarter than any healthcare professional. When a person gets too much nicotine, they don't feel well, they become sick to their stomach, they sweat and they experience palpitations. They feel the effects very quickly.