fbpx

Vaping

New Smoking Pandemic Lurking As FDA Prepares Its Decision On E-Cigarettes

Today, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to announce its historical decision on the fate of e-cigarettes in the United States. As a result of a review of millions of applications made by big and small e-cigarettes makers around the country, the agency will either recognize vaping products as “appropriate for the protection of public health”, or ban them from the market. Despite unequivocal evidence proving the safety of e-cigarettes, the odds are not in favor of e-cigarettes, especially when it comes to smaller companies.

E-cigarettes were actually invented to help smokers quit, and have been enormously successful in doing so. Since 2013, when vaping became popular in the United Kingdom, the adult smoking rate there has plummeted. In fact, in the UK, the smoking rate is at itslowest since 1974. The popularity of vape flavors among adults is one of the reasons smokers have switched to vaping. Vapers that use flavors are 2.3 times more likely to quit than those who use tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes.

Although not complete, the FDA market authorization review process has shown bias against flavored e-cigarettes. On August 26, the FDA denied 55,000 flavored e-cigarette products market access for failing to “provide evidence that they appropriately protect public health” despite the clear body of evidence that e-cigarettes do improve the health of smokers who switch to e-cigarettes. Instead of acknowledging this evidence, the FDA pivoted instead to the illegal use of e-cigarettes by those under 21 years old, saying “flavored tobacco products are very appealing to young people” and hence require close examination. Such reasoning doesn’t stand up to scrutiny and only hurts adult consumers who seek to switch.

A recent study by the Consumer Choice Center and World Vapers’ Alliance found that if the US was to put in place vape flavor bans, over 7.7 million vapers would go back to smoking. If the main goal behind the market authorization review process is to protect public health and prevent smoking-induced diseases, then e-cigarette flavor bans—which are popular with smokers seeking harm-reducing alternatives—are the wrong way forward. 

Second, the application process has been unnecessarily bureaucratic and costly. The FDA itself estimated that building and submitting a market authorization application will take an average of 1,713 hours to compile and could cost several million dollars per product. For smaller vape companies, that is a heavyweight to bear. 

Speaking to POLITICO, Dave Morris, the owner of Phoenix, Arizona-based Vape Gravy Brands, said that his company has spent nearly every penny to apply for market approval of his products. Many of the applications that have been submitted to the FDA have been issued “refuse to accept” or“refuse to file” notices as their applications were deemed incomplete, or as failing to meet technical requirements.

Small vape shops are essential to driving down smoking rates. A study published by BMC Health found that “vape shop staff play a central role in providing customers with product information, and many provide smoking cessation advice.” Therefore, preserving small vape shops is critical to reduce smoking.

Due to a high volume of applications, it seems likely that the FDA will postpone its decision further. However, the predictions are far from optimistic. The United States, a land of innovation and entrepreneurship, is set to crush a technology that—unlike taxes and various other tobacco restrictions—has helped millions of smokers quit. Many developing countries will follow America’s lead, so the fate of vaping globally is at stake. In the end, in pursuit of public health protection, the FDA will bring about a new smoking pandemic. Haven’t we had enough of pandemics?

Originally published here

2.4 million smokers in the UK turn to vape to quit

VAPING debate is heating up again. While the World Health Organisation has just released a statement pouring cold water on the use of vape in helping to reduce tobacco consumption, evidence in the United Kingdom (UK) continues to show that it is very effective in helping smokers to quit traditional cigarettes.

A recently published survey by a tobacco control advocate in the UK, has found nearly two-thirds (64.6%) of its vaping population comprising adults are ex-smokers who have quit smoking with vape, with the proportion growing year-on-year. This figure translates to approximately 2.4 million vapers who are ex-smokers.

In addition, the proportion of never smokers remain low at 4.9% or approximately 200,000 adults.

According to the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), there are 3.6 million vapers in the UK in 2021 which is approximately 7.1% of its total population.

Based on the survey, most of the current e-cigarette users who are ex-smokers say they vape to help them quit (36%) and to keep them off tobacco (20%), strengthening the claim that that vaping is helping smokers to quit traditional cigarettes.

According to UK’s Annual Population Survey, smoking prevalence among adults aged 18 and over in England has declined significantly. In 2011, 19.8% of adults smoked, falling to 13.9% in 2019, equivalent to a drop from 7.7 million smokers in 2011 to 5.7 million in 2019.

In fact, reports over the years by Public Health England (PHE) found that vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking conventional cigarettes and was helping 20,000 people quit a year. PHE also claim that that e-cigarettes are the most popular aid used in quit attempts for smokers in UK.

In 2020, 27.2% of people used a vaping product in a quit attempt in the previous 12 months, compared with 15.5% who used nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).

It also said that concern about e-cigarette use as a gateway to smoking among young people wasn’t supported by evidence in the UK, where regular vaping among young people who’ve never smoked is less than 1%.

In addition, evidence from a randomised controlled trial found that vaping was nearly twice as effective as NRT in helping smokers quit in a Stop Smoking Service setting in England, and a systematic review of the evidence has concluded that there is moderate-certainty evidence that e-cigarettes with nicotine increase quit rates compared to e-cigarettes without nicotine and compared to NRT.

In Malaysia, a survey commissioned by Malaysian Vape Industry Advocacy (MVIA) found that 88% of Malaysian vapers who used to smoke cigarettes have successfully quit smoking with the aid of vape.

The same poll also found that 79%, who currently vape and also smoke traditional cigarettes at the same time, have reduced smoking since taking up vape.

Clearly, the role of vaping in helping smokers to quit traditional cigarettes for good cannot be ignored.

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

Switching From Smoking To Vaping Could Save Thousands Of Lives, Report Finds

Report claims over half a million Malaysians smokers would switch if vaping is promoted as a harm reduced alternative.

An international consumer group has called for a “rethink” of approaches to vaping, saying regulations that facilitate it as a means to help people quit smoking could save thousands of lives.

The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) made this call in a report it published with the World Vaping Alliance (WVA) titled “From Smoking to Vaping – Lives Saved”.

The report analysed data on smoking and vaping from 61 countries and assessed how many smokers could potentially switch to vaping if the regulations encouraged vaping as a means to quit smoking.

The researchers looked to the United Kingdom to establish a “switching rate” because of the rate at which smoking decreased while vaping increased in the UK.

In the UK, people are “actively” encouraged to switch to vaping, and the country has seen a 25% reduction in smokers since 2013 when vaping became a key asset for the UK health agencies to urge smokers to quit smoking.

In the same period, Australia, which has one of the toughest vaping regulations saw a decline in smoking of only 8%.

The report estimates that if the right regulations were in place, around 196 million smokers in the 61 countries could switch to vaping, an alternative the two organisations say is 95% less harmful than cigarettes.

In the case of Malaysia, the report cited that the country could see well over half a million smokers in this country would make the switch if vaping is promoted as a harm reduced alternative for smokers.

A growing number of studies are pointing to the effectiveness of tobacco harm reduction (THR) measures including safer alternatives to cigarettes, to help smokers kick the habit.

A recent review of studies by Public Health England, an executive agency of the UK’s Health and Social Care Department found “stronger evidence” that nicotine vaping products are effective for smoking cessation and reduction.

This was in comparison to its 2018 review of studies which found that “tens of thousands” stopped smoking as a result of vaping in 2017 alone.

In “From Smoking To Vaping – Lives Saved”, the report notes that vaping has been recognised as one of the most effective tools to help smokers quit and this has been endorsed by health authorities in several countries including the UK, France, Canada, and New Zealand.

CCC Managing Director Fred Roeder said about the report, “Smart rules on advertising e-cigarettes to smokers, displaying e-cigarettes at the point of sale for cigarettes, lower rates of taxation for e-cigarettes, and public health bodies endorsing the evidence of vaping being at least 95% less harmful than traditional smoking, everything that the UK has done right, can help save the lives of thousands of smokers by helping them switch to vaping.”

WVA Director Michael Landl meanwhile said the report highlights the significant potential of the benefits of switching from smoking to vaping.

While the benefits of vaping as an alternative to smoking have been known for some time, the research shows just how significant the potential is: almost 200 million lives saved. If COVID has shown us anything, it’s that our health is paramount and regulators that want people to quit smoking need to be led by science and ensure that ideology takes a back seat to pragmatism.

World Vapers Association (WVADirectorMichael Landl

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

Flavoured vape e-liquids help smokers to quit smoking

A recent paper by Consumer Choice Centre (CCC) and the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) has concluded that vapers risk returning to smoking traditional cigarettes if they do not have access to flavoured vape e-liquids.

The paper titled Why Flavours Matter cited a five-year US study involving 17,000 Americans. It found that adults who used flavoured vaping products were 2.3 times more likely to quit traditional cigarettes compared with those who consumed tobacco-flavoured vaping products.

Read the full article here

Vaping is safe, and the EU must give it a chance

Both the EU Beating Cancer Plan and Dutch vape flavour ban – expected to enter into force on 1 July 2022 – fail to see the important role vaping plays in helping smokers quit.

Vaping is safe, and the EU must give it a chance

Such an approach doesn’t stand up to scrutiny and does nothing to reduce the smoking rates and beat cancer. The longer Europe continues to ignore an emerging plethora of studies on vaping and its lifesaving properties, the more lives will be lost.

Nearly 700,000 Europeans die every year as a result of smoking-induced cancer. Unless the EU recognises the benefits of vaping, these numbers will likely persist, depriving future generations of tobacco-free saved years of life. Anti-vaping policies are anti-human rights because they knowingly endanger the lives of smokers by limiting their access to an effective harm reduction tool.

Read the full article here

Pentingnya Informasi yang Lengkap Terkait Vape bagi Masyarakat

Rokok elektronik, atau yang dikenal juga dengan istilah vape, saat ini merupakan produk yang tidak bisa dipisahkan dari kehidupan sehari-hari bagi jutaan masyarakat di Indonesia. Kita, khususnya yang tinggal di wilayah urban, dapat dengan mudah menemukan berbagai orang yang menggunakan produk rokok elektronik tersebut di berbagai tempat

Bagi sebagian orang, vape menyediakan berbagai pengalaman berbeda yang tidak bisa didapatkan dari mengkonsumsi rokok konvensional yang dibakar. Beberapa diantaranya adalah banyaknya pilihan rasa yang disediakan oleh berbagai produk vape yang dijual di pasar.

Tetapi, tidak semua pihak menyambut baik fenomena semakin populernya berbagai produk vape tersebut di masyarakat. Tidak sedikit sebagian kalangan yang menganggap hal tersebut adalah sesuatu yang sangat negatif, dan harus segera ditangani. Tidak jarang juga, orang yang menganggap justru rokok elektronik dianggap sebagai produk yang jauh lebih berbahaya bila dibandingkan dengan rokok konvensional yang dibakar.

Padahal, berdasarkan penelitian, rokok elektronik atau vape merupakan produk yang jauh lebih aman bila dibandingkan dengan rokok konvensional yang dibakar. Berdasarkan laporan dari lembaga kesehatan publik Inggris, Public Health England (PHE) tahun 2015 misalnya, rokok elektronik atau vape merupakan produk yang 95% jauh lebih aman bila dibandingkan dengan rokok konvensional yang dibakar (gov.uk, 19/8/2015).

Berdasarkan American Lung Association, rokok konvensional yang dibakar misalnya, mengandung lebih dari 7.000 zat kimia, di mana 69 diantaranya merupakan zat berbahaya yang dapat menyebabkan kanker (lung.org, 20/8/2019). Sementara itu, terkait dengan rokok elektornik atau vape, dua bahan utama yang terkandung dalam cairan vape tersebut terdiri dari propylene glycol (PG) dan vegetable glycerin (VG) yang sudah dinyatakan aman oleh berbagai lembaga regulator, salah satunya adalah lembaga regulator Amerika Serikat, Food and Drugs Administration (24/10/2019).

Informasi ini tentu merupakan hal yang sangat penting untuk diketahui oleh publik sebagai konsumen. Bila terdapat informasi yang terbuka mengenai hal tersebut, maka konsumen dalam hal ini memiliki kesempatan untuk memilih produk yang jauh lebih untuk mereka konsumsi.

Hal ini pula yang diungkapkan oleh organisasi pegiat hak konsumen vape di Indonesia, Asosiasi Konsumen Vape Indonesia (AKVINDO). AKVINDO menyatakan bahwa, saat ini masyarakat belum memiliki akses terhadap informasi mengenai vape atau rokok elektronik yang memadai, sehingga banyak menerima misinformasi dan kekeliruan (merdeka.com, 19/4/2021).

Pandangan yang sama juga diutarakan oleh Aliansi Vaper Indonesia (AVI). Menurut AVI, konsumen memiliki hak sebagaimana yang diatur dalam aturan perlindungan konsumen, diantaranya adalah mengenai akses terhadap informasi produk yang digunakan. Hal ini tentu termasuk juga para konsumen produk-produk vape atau rokok elektronik (vapemagz.co.id, 20/3/2021).

Informasi yang lengkap bagi konsumen agar mereka bisa memilih pilihan yang terbaik bagi diri mereka merupakan hal yang sangat penting, khususnya untuk para konsumen produk-produk yang sangat membahayakan kesehatan seperti rokok konvensional yang dibakar. Terlebih lagi, Indonesia merupakan salah satu negara dengan jumlah populasi perokok tertinggi di dunia. Pada tahun 2021, jumlah perokok aktif di Indonesia diestimasi sebesar 65,7 juta jiwa (jpnn.com, 29/4/2021).

Angka yang sangat tinggi ini tentu merupakan sesuatu yang sangat mengkhawatirkan. Mengajak seseorang untuk berhenti merokok bukanlah hal yang semudah membalikkan telapak tangan, karena rokok merupakan salah satu produk yang mengandung zat adiktif yang dapat menimbulkan kecanduan.

Oleh karena itu, bila konsumen di Indonesia, khususnya mereka yang menjadi para perokok aktif, bisa mendapatkan informasi yang sesuai dan lengkap mengenai produk alternatif tembakau lainnya, seperti rokok elektronik, diharapkan setidaknya mereka bisa mempertimbangkan pilihan yang lebih baik. Bila para konsumen mendapatkan informasi yang lengkap mengenai bahaya rokok konvensional yang dibakar, dan bahwa produk rokok elektronik jauh lebih aman daripada rokok konvensional, tidak mustahil sebagian besar dari mereka akan berpindah ke produk yang lebih aman.

Originally published here

Smoking bans don’t work – nor will cracking down on vape and cigarette sales

The World Health Organisation’s ‘Tobacco Free Initiative’ aims to speed up the gradual transition to a smoke-free world.

And yet, for some reason, it is also opposed to vaping, the safe alternative to smoking which is the best tool we have for helping people quit cigarettes.

It is clear, then, that the WHO doesn’t actually care about making us healthier. In reality, it just wants to accumulate more political control and centralise power over health policy.

Read the full article here

Why the WHO is wrong about vaping

The health institution’s anti-vaping approach set out in its latest report on the global tobacco pandemic is scientifically unjustified and will cost lives.

Last week, the World Health Organisation published yet another report which spreads fake news and false myths about vaping.  Despite the tool being recognised as 95 percent less harmful than conventional smoking, the WHO’s scientifically unjustified vaping witch-hunt could cost millions of lives.

Among the worn-out and debunked theories peddled by the WHO report ‘on the global tobacco epidemic 2021: New and Emerging Products’ is the so-called gateway effect theory, which suggests that vaping leads to smoking. This dangerous and misleading theory has long since been disproven by numerous studies, as well as nationwide case studies, such as in England where upwards of 50,000 smokers are using vapes as a gateway out of (not into) smoking every year.

“Rather than focus on the all-important goal of beating smoking, the WHO is turning its guns on vaping, the most powerful smoking cessation tool on the planet.”

Vaping has also proven to be more effective than other quitting tools. A 2019 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that vaping was twice as effective as nicotine-replacement products in helping smokers quit. Vape flavours – continuously demonised by the WHO – have also shown to be crucial in helping smokers quit. Vapers that use flavours are 2.3 times more likely to quit than those who use tobacco-flavoured e-cigarettes.

Besides being riddled with biased anti-vaping scaremongering and false claims, the entire direction of travel set out in the latest WHO report is nonsensical. Rather than focus on the all-important goal of beating smoking, the WHO is turning its guns on vaping, the most powerful smoking cessation tool on the planet.

They clearly find it more important to fall into line with the narrow-minded ‘quit or die’ approach trumpeted by the WHO’s billionaire sponsors, like Mike Bloomberg. The reality is that if the world follows the WHO’s lead, fewer smokers will quit and more will die as a consequence.

The WHO systematically ignores the wealth of scientific evidence pointing to the benefits of vaping, not to mention the first-hand experience of millions of vapers. Unfortunately, this anti-vaping approach has spill over effects to other jurisdictions – especially to low- and middle-income countries, but also the European Union.

For example, both Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and a vape flavour ban in the Netherlands mirror the WHO recommendations – and are extremely dangerous for that reason. In 2007, nearly a quarter of the Dutch population smoked daily. That number went down to 16 percent in 2018 and continues to drop. However, with the new Dutch vape flavour ban in place, this positive trend might quickly reverse. According to newly published research by the Consumer Choice Center, the ban will drive over 250 thousand adults back to smoking.

“The weight of research and real-world evidence shows that progressive vaping policies can help 19 million European smokers to quit.”

The same is true for the EU Beating Cancer plan. Smoking-induced cancer claims nearly 700,000 lives each year in the EU. But instead of fostering life-saving innovation, the EU has opened the door to flavour bans and tax increases which would deprive millions of smokers of the opportunity to stop smoking once and for all. The weight of research and real-world evidence shows that progressive vaping policies can help 19 million European smokers to quit.

Restricting or banning access to vaping will do nothing but cost lives, and the WHO and the EU – both as a bloc and at member state levels – will soon learn this painful lesson if they keep ignoring science and consumers. 

Originally published here

BESTECHUNG GEGEN VAPING: LEAKS ÜBER DIE BLOOMBERG-FINANZIERTE “CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS”

Den Menschen in Deutschland ist der Milliardär Michael Bloomberg vor allem als ehemaliger Bürgermeister von New York City bekannt, der eine Menge Geld für eine unglückliche Präsidentschaftskandidatur verpulvert hat.

Aber auf der ganzen Welt hat sein Netzwerk von Wohltätigkeitsorganisationen und Interessensgruppen, die er mit Millionen von Dollar an Zuschüssen versorgt, eine Art Privatregierung errichtet. Diese nimmt Einfluss auf Regierungschefs, finanziert Gehälter von Beamten des öffentlichen Gesundheitswesens und schreibt sogar Gesetzentwürfe, die dann in die gesetzgebenden Prozesse rund um die Welt eingebracht werden – einschließlich des jüngsten Verbotes von E-Zigaretten in Mexiko und auf den Philippinen.

Einige dieser Organisationen werden direkt von Bloomberg geleitet und kontrolliert, darunter Bloomberg Philanthropies. Aber die meisten sind verschiedene Kampagnengruppen, die sich auf die Finanzierung und Führung durch den New Yorker Milliardär im Hintergrund stützen. Sie konzentrieren sich in der Regel auf Umwelt- und Bildungsthemen und sind besonders im Bereich der öffentlichen Gesundheit und Tabakkontrolle aktiv.

Laut dem neuesten Artikel von Michelle Minton vom „Competitive Enterprise Institute“, die interne Dokumente der von Bloomberg finanzierten Organisation „Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids“ (CTFK) in die Hände bekam, geht der schädliche Einfluss der Kampagnen, die insbesondere Entwicklungsländer fokussieren, weit über Standardmaßnahmen zur Kontrolle des Tabakkonsums wie Steuern, Altersbeschränkungen und Werbebeschränkungen hinaus.

Einflussnahme auf klamme Regierungen

Es werden direkte Zahlungen an Regierungsstellen und Beamte des öffentlichen Gesundheitswesens angeboten, die im Gegenzug die CTFK-Wunschliste von Gesetzen umsetzen. Da Entwicklungsländer weniger für öffentliche Gesundheitsmaßnahmen und -programme ausgeben können als Industrienationen, wird ausländischen NGOs im Austausch für Millionen von Dollar immenser Einfluss gewährt.

Anstelle von demokratisch legitimierten Maßnahmen zur Raucherentwöhnung, verabschieden diese Nationen Gesetze im Tausch gegen Zuschüsse von Bloomberg-Organisationen. Zuschüsse, die oft viel größer sind als die Budgets der Ministerien. In anderen Zusammenhängen würde man dies zu Recht als Bestechung bezeichnen.

Entsprechend der fast 700 Millionen Dollar, die Michael Bloombergs Wohltätigkeitsorganisationen weltweit ausgegeben haben, um ihre Forderungen in Gesetze umzuwandeln, hat der lange Arm der globalen Anti-Tabak-Bewegung bereits einige Erfolge zu verzeichnen.

Die Dokumente zeigen die Bemühungen der Aktivisten von CTFK, verschiedene Tabakkontroll- und Anti-Vaping-Maßnahmen in Ländern wie Brasilien, China und Nigeria zu verabschieden, einschließlich der “finanziellen Unterstützung” von Ministerien und Regierungsstellen.

Nicht nur Regierungsbeamte und Gesundheitseinrichtungen, sondern auch Universitäten und Medieninstitutionen werden mit exorbitanten Summen unterstützt, um die Kernbotschaften und Ziele der CTFK zu verbreiten, wie die Dokumente zeigen.

Die Nebelwand

Anstatt für allgemeine Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung des Tabakkonsums einzutreten, konzentriert sich ein großer Teil der CTFK-Kampagnen auf das Verbot oder die starke Einschränkung neuer Technologien wie Vaping, und dies insbesondere in Entwicklungsländern wie Indien, den Philippinen, China, Brasilien, Peru, Uruguay, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenia und anderen.

Im Gegensatz zu ihrer Mission, Kinder vom Tabak wegzubekommen, haben die mit Bloomberg verbundenen Organisationen stattdessen ihren Einfluss genutzt, um innovative und neuartige Technologien wie das Vapen, das nichts mit Tabak zu tun hat und nachgewiesen weniger schädlich als Rauchen ist, ins Visier zu nehmen.

Organisationen wie „Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids“ haben den Kampf gegen das Rauchen als Vorwand benutzt, um alle weniger schädlichen Alternativen zum Rauchen zu eliminieren oder stark einzuschränken –  einschließlich E-Zigaretten, Heat-not-burn-Geräte, Nikotinbeutel und ähnliches.

In Anbetracht des nachgewiesenen Potentials zur Raucherentwöhnung, sollten die Hunderte von Millionen Dollar, die ausgegeben werden, um die Verbreitung dieser Alternativen in Entwicklungsländern mit hohen Raucherquoten zu untergraben, ein Skandal epischen Ausmaßes darstellen.

Aber leider werden diese Schlagzeilen kaum beachtet. Stattdessen werden zahlreiche Maßnahmen umgesetzt, die die Konsumentenfreiheit und den Zugang zu Alternativen einschränken, ohne viel Rücksicht auf die öffentliche Gesundheit.

Öffentliche Gesundheit effektiv verbessern

Was diese Enthüllungen besonders erschreckend macht, ist das Fehlen jeglicher Nuancen. Fraglich ist ja gerade, ob innovative neue E-Zigaretten und ähnliche tabaklose Alternativen als Tabakprodukte angesehen werden sollten. Zum Beispiel behauptet die Framework Convention on Tobacco Control der Weltgesundheitsorganisation, dass es keine Unterschiede gäbe.

Aber das ist falsch. Immer mehr akademische Studien und Regierungsberichte zeigen, dass Vaping zu 95% weniger schädlich ist als Rauchen.

Die Tatsache, dass Millionen von Menschen durch den Konsum von E-Zigaretten mit dem Rauchen aufhören konnten, sollte Beweis genug dafür sein, wie der Markt Lösungen im Sinne der öffentlichen Gesundheit liefern kann. Und sie sollte auch zeigen, dass man Entwicklungsländern nicht Knüppel zwischen die Beine werfen und ihnen die reale Möglichkeit verwehren sollte, das Leben von Millionen ihrer Bürger zu verbessern und zu retten.

Aber wie Minton vom „Competitive Enterprise Institute“ feststellt, “scheint die Strategie von CTFK und der breiteren von Bloomberg finanzierten Anti-Tabak-Bewegung darauf abzuzielen, politischen Einfluss zu nehmen und Gesetze zu verabschieden, ohne Rücksicht darauf, ob sie zu einer tatsächlichen Verringerung des Rauchens oder einer Verbesserung der Gesundheit führen.”

Wenn dies das Gesicht der modernen Anti-Tabak-Bewegung ist, dann wissen wir, dass die öffentliche Gesundheit nicht ihr wahres Ziel ist.

Originally published here

More Effective E-Cig Regulations Could Save Approximately 200 Million Lives

A recent study of 61 countries and their e-cigarette regulations, has indicated that setting place more effective vape regulations could save the lives of almost 200 million people.

recent study conducted by The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) together with the Consumer Choice Center, examined 61 countries and their subsequent e-cig regulations. The research team used the UK’s progressive tobacco harm reduction policies, which endorse the use of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation as a reference point. Then they analysed how many current smokers would be encouraged to switch in each of the other countries, if they had access to such a permissive framework.

After compiling data from these countries, the research team concluded that with a regulatory regime which facilitates and encourages e-cigarettes as a means to quit smoking, 196 million of current smokers in those countries could switch to vaping.

Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, Michael Landl, said that this data indicates just how great the potential of e-cigarettes is for public health. “While the benefits of vaping as an alternative to smoking have been known for some time, today’s research shows just how significant the potential is: almost 200 million lives saved. If COVID has shown us anything, it’s that our health is paramount and regulators that want people to quit smoking need to be led by science and ensure that ideology takes a back seat to pragmatism.”

The results speak for themselves

Infact in the UK, approximately 25% fewer people smoke today than they did in 2013 when vaping became popular, and the nation is even boasting the lowest smoking rates recorded since cigarettes came on the scene. France, Canada and New Zealand whose approach is more similar to the UK, are also seeing positive results. On the other hand, Australia, one of the countries with the toughest vaping regulations, has witnessed only a mere 8% decline during the same period.

“Smart rules on advertising e-cigarettes to smokers, displaying e-cigarettes at the point of sale for cigarettes, lower rates of taxation for e-cigarettes, and public health bodies endorsing the evidence of vaping being at least 95% less harmful than traditional smoking, everything that the UK has done right, can help save the lives of thousands of smokers by helping them switch to vaping,” said Fred Roeder, Managing Director of the Consumer Choice Center, said about the report.

The PHE’s latest report on vaping

In the UK, Public Health England (PHE) is renowned for recommending switching from smoking to vaping, and  progressive frameworks for vaping have been introduced accordingly. Carried out by researchers at the renowned King’s College London, the organization’s seventh independent report on vaping in England, was commended by tobacco harm reduction experts.

The report highlighted the following points:

  • “Vaping is the most popular aid (27.2%) used by smokers trying to quit in England in 2020
  • More than 50,000 smokers stopped smoking in 2017 with the aid of vaping
  • 38% of smokers believed that vaping is as harmful as smoking while 15% believed that vaping is more harmful”

Originally published here.

Scroll to top
en_USEN