WHO Denies Ecig Reality
The World Health Organization has issued a newsletter denying the evidenced reality that vaping is safer than smoking and helps smokers quit
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by Dave Cross
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“The saying goes that ‘quitters never win,’ but in the case of tobacco, quitters are the real winners,” writes Dr Ruediger Krech for the WHO (1).
Not reading past this opening line is strongly advised as any semblance to reality stops at this point.
“When the news came out that smokers were more likely to develop severe disease with COVID-19 compared to non-smokers, it triggered millions of smokers to want to quit tobacco,” he continued.
The problem here is that he is utterly wrong. Multiple reports of smokers not presenting in hospitals with severe symptoms in expected numbers have been logged. The University College London study is a case in point (2), which concluded: “Compared with never smokers, current smokers appear to be at reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection”.
Krech says that the WHO continuing to do more of what it already does (promoting cessation services and its risible A.I. app (3) Florence) will have an impact on the 1.3 billion global tobacco users.
But it is when Krech gets onto the subject of vaping that things really go very badly wrong.
“E-cigarettes are not proven cessation aids. The tobacco industry has continuously attempted to subvert these life-saving public health measures. Over the last decade, the tobacco industry has promoted e-cigarettes as cessation aids under the guises of contributing to global tobacco control. Meanwhile, they have employed strategic marketing tactics to hook children on this same portfolio of products, making them available in over 15,000 attractive flavours.
“The scientific evidence on e-cigarettes as cessation aids is inconclusive and there is a lack of clarity as to whether these products have any role to play in smoking cessation. Switching from conventional tobacco products to e-cigarettes is not quitting.”
The it’s WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ turn. He says: “We must be guided by science and evidence, not the marketing campaigns of the tobacco industry – the same industry that has engaged in decades of lies and deceit to sell products that have killed hundreds of millions of people. E-cigarettes generate toxic chemicals, which have been linked to harmful health effects such as cardiovascular disease & lung disorders."
Outright anti-science lies.
The UK Vaping Industry Association said: “The UKVIA is extremely disappointed that the WHO continue to ignore evidence that shows e-cigarettes are the most effective smoking cessation tool. The WHO continues to risk becoming the enemy of harm reduction.”
Advocate Charles Gardner wrote on Twitter: “Toxic misinformation about the relative risks of smoking, which kills people, and safer nicotine alternatives that help smokers quit and thus not die, just protects Big Tobacco's main cash cow: Cigarettes.”
Expert Clive Bates is quoted in Filter Mag (4) saying: “Vaping has already worked for many millions of smokers, and many credible experts agree that a systemic approach to tobacco harm reduction could save the lives of hundreds of millions of smokers…the WHO once again shows it is not fit for purpose and that it is captured by special interests.”
References:
- Quit tobacco to be a winner - World No Tobacco Day 2021 campaign - Commit to Quit - https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/quit-tobacco-to-be-a-winner
- The association of smoking status with SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalisation and mortality from COVID-19: A living rapid evidence review with Bayesian meta-analyses (version 11) - https://www.qeios.com/read/UJR2AW.13
- Artificial Ineptitude - https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/news/vaping-news/2020-11-10_artificial-ineptitude.html
- WHO Reasserts Anti-Vaping Stance Ahead of World No Tobacco Day - https://filtermag.org/who-vaping-no-tobacco-day/
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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