The Guardian Of Vaping
The Guardian broadsheet may not be known for its spelling but it is making a reasonable fist at covering the electronic cigarette debate more fairly than some of its rivals.
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by Dave Cross
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The first word Nash Riggins wrote by way of introduction to his attack on vaping was “lobbyists”. It is a loaded term, imbued with imagery of men hanging around politicians’ offices with envelopes stuffed with money, indicating the tone of the piece to come.
In response to the news regarding the banning of vaping by NHS Scotland, we covered here, he writes: “The move makes perfect sense.” Setting himself on a collision course with ASH Scotland, he continues: “Lobbyists have been queuing up for a few years now to push the idea that e-cigs are somehow safer than normal cigarettes.”
As well as these imagined lobbyists that don’t exist he also claims that electronic cigarettes aren’t safer than traditional smokes (they are), that the nicotine in juice is not regulated (it’s pharmaceutical grade) and that “every puff you take on an e-cig is a roll of the dice.” None of his feelings about vaping are supported with any evidence.
It drew strong criticism from vapers, GrigorDen recalled the great Brass Eye made-up drug ‘Cake’ episode: “Imagine Noel Edmonds and Rolf Harris reading some of those lines.”
Linda Bauld, Professor of Health Policy at the University of Stirling, in her reply article explained that for Riggins “to reach such a conclusion...overlooks an extraordinary body of evidence pointing to the contrary. Disregarding this evidence could mean missing out on the potential of e-cigarettes to save lives.”
Linda said: “Both the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and the Medicines Healthcare Regulatory Association acknowledge that their use is safer than continued smoking. This is not simply an opinion; it is an evidence-based statement and one that is supported by tobacco control organisations in the UK.”
Bauld continues: “Public misunderstanding of nicotine prevails and even those involved in delivering support to smokers to stop can hold the view that longer term nicotine use (of licensed or unlicensed products) is harmful. So it is a common misperception. The NICE guidance makes it clear that this concern is misplaced. It is about understanding the difference between high risk and low risk.”
The third piece, carried last Sunday, may appear to have a negative skew with its headline To vape or not to vape? More and more just say no, but the content is largely positive.
Professor Robert West features predominantly, repeating his statements regarding the non-existent gateway effect and that “one-third of quit attempts use e-cigarettes which makes them by far the most popular method of stopping.”
Hazel Cheeseman from ASH UK adds: “Using an electronic cigarette is safer than smoking; there is little evidence that they are leading to an increase in young people smoking.”
Some would claim that Riggins’ piece should not have been published given its factual errors and misleading statements – but without it Bauld would not have been given a platform to debunk all of his assertions and it contrasts strikingly with the messages conveyed in the final article.
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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