The Misconceptions of Vaping
A paper presented at the Global Forum for Nicotine contains some interesting information.
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by Dave Cross
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Russell and Hamilton-Barclay presented at the Global Forum for Nicotine. At the outset they state the world faces a dilemma: there are currently 523 million regular tobacco users who are resistant to current tobacco control measures and do not engage with or respond to quit programs. Half a billion smokers who, without a change of approach, are on the road to a smoking-related disease currently accounting for a death every six seconds.
The team refer to the adoption of vaping as “an intuitive, pragmatic approach”, making the claim that “hundreds of thousands are succeeding with the assistance of electronic cigarettes and vapourisers.”
Where the issue lies, as they see it, with regards non-vapers is ensuring that someone trying an ecig is converted into a regular user. They believe that a smoker makes up their mind within a few days of trialling and their perceptions and experiences dictate whether or not they will achieve a successful outcome.
They recruited smokers as subjects for research who had never tried vaping before. Using questionnaires, they discovered why ecigs had not been given a go. The answers received provide an excellent guide to anyone developing liquid or atomisers and are of interest to vapers in general.
The main reasons for wanting to take part and try vaping were given as:
- Cigarettes cost too much.
- The effect of smoking on health.
- The belief that vaping is less harmful.
- The desire to cut down on smoking.
- The desire to learn more about vaping.
- Curiosity.
The main reasons why they had not previously tried vaping:
- Not believing they would satisfy the craving.
- Didn’t know enough about vaping-related risks.
- The time needed to learn how to use one.
The main worries about e-cigs:
- That it won’t work when a craving takes hold.
The commonly held misconceptions about vaping and the devices included:
- A belief that ecigs explode (thanks to some sensationalist articles in the media). One comment even stated that these explosions were often deadly.
- Perceived dangers:
- “Seems very chemical and unnatural”
- “[They] still contain nicotine and are therefore not a completely safe alternative to cigarettes.”
- “Why would chemical smoke be any healthier?”
- “As the nicotine must be from tobacco then there must be a chemical process and mostly not healthier than to smoke regular tobacco.”
- “I’m sceptical about the liquid.”
- “I’ve read that the liquid might be quite dangerous.”
- “An e-cigarette is still damaging to your lungs.”
- “They can be more addictive as they only contain nicotine whereas cigarettes have many other chemicals in them which mask the overwhelming nicotine.”
- Poor performance:
- “I’ve heard...that the feeling of inhalation is not the same.”
- “The battery life can be a real killer, cutting out when you need it most.”
There are some important points contained in these comments that beg to be addressed. If these are representative of non-vaping smokers at large then there’s a huge health dividend to be won by overcoming these objections and misconceptions. At the end of the research program 56% of participants said they were sufficiently motivated and fulfilled – and intended to continue using vaping as a means to quit smoking.
This point is tied to one of the authors’ points in their conclusion: “Education! Education! Education! Smokers curious about e-cigarettes are crying out for clarity about the risks. Ambiguity from trusted bodies is a major barrier to uptake and persistence!”
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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