The politician who first approved Tasers for use in B.C. in 'combative situations' says the weapon is now being used as a substitute for good old fashioned police work.

Former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh told a Vancouver inquiry into the use of Tasers Monday that when he first approved the weapon for use in B.C. they were supposed to be used sparingly by police in "assaultive and combative situations, where a person is a danger to others."

But in recent years Taser use has shot up, he said.

"It is being used as a substitute for ordinary, old-fashioned policing or talking to people," he told inquiry commissioner Thomas Braidwood, a retired appeal court judge.

"It is also being used in situations where it wasn't contemplated," said Dosanjh, citing Tasers being used by local transit police on fare evaders. "That is something I would have never imagined."

Dosanjh, who was B.C.'s attorney general when he approved Taser use, told the inquiry he was given several assurances the weapon was safe, adding he now knows that seven people have died in B.C. after receiving one or more Taser jolts.

"The research to date in inadequate and in some cases misleading," Dosanjh said. He cited a recent position of the Canadian Medical Association, which questioned whether Taser use can cause heart arrhythmia and sometimes death.

Dosanjh told the inquiry that the onus should be on the manufacturer, Taser International, to conclusively prove there is no evidence that Tasers can kill people.

Tom Smith, the chairman of Taser International, told the inquiry that Tasers are like airbags, which save lives during car crashes but occasionally contribute to the death of a person.

He added the Taser is not risk-free, but saves lives.

"Are Tasers risk free? No, they cause people to fall down," Smith told the inquiry, suggesting that Tasers save 70 lives for every life lost.

Smith said studies show that Taser use reduces the number of injuries to officers and suspects being arrested.

Smith said it is a myth that there have been no independent studies of Taser use. There have 129 medical and field studies, he said, with less than 20 per cent funded by Taser International.

"I certainly encourage more studies," Smith told reporters after his presentation. "This is the most studied non-lethal force option in the world."

He said the death of a Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski last Oct. 14 at Vancouver International Airport was a tragic event that prompted the current inquiry, but it remains unclear what killed the man.

The Dziekanski incident was captured on video by a bystander, resulting in an international public outcry.