To build on what's just been said, we've definitely been monitoring e-cigarettes, what scientific evidence is out there in the public domain, and looking at it from the context of our regulatory frameworks. We did put out a notice in 2009 that alerted stakeholders to the fact that we felt this was a new drug format, in the sense that it was not the same as nicotine-containing gum or lozenges or patches, that this was a novel route of administration. We put it out so as to caution Canadians that Health Canada did not fully understand comprehensively the safety of this product, and to not seek it out without discussion with your health practitioner. Some e-cigarettes contain nicotine; some of them do not. Some of them contain just propellants or things like propylene glycol. There are some studies looking at the toxicity or the hazards associated with this, but they are certainly not comprehensive.
From the regulatory point of view, if we're looking at providing access to e-cigarettes, for, say, smoking cessation through the Food and Drugs Act and its regulations, then we would want to see evidence of the same sort of detail that we expected with other nicotine replacement therapies when they came in, or other pharmaceutical products that do play a role in smoking cessation.
To date, we have not had that evidence presented to us, and the evidence isn't comprehensive enough that we would feel comfortable that a product could be marketed in Canada with a clear claim that this plays a role in smoking cessation. The level of evidence is not comprehensive, is not population-based. It's not well designed and organized to the state that we would feel comfortable authorizing it. It may play an important role, and we hope that we do find that. I think our due diligence is such that we need to ensure that if anything gets an approval from Health Canada with a claim that there is substantive evidence that supports that, and if Canadians embark on using this product, they know it's going to have a positive impact, and they will not be assuming undue risks or risks that are not well characterized.