Health Professionals Should Know Vaping Facts
Health professionals should know the vaping facts, according to the Independent European Vape Alliance
-
by Dave Cross
Share on:
“Switching to vaping has helped millions of smokers worldwide to significantly reduce the harm to their health. The principle of harm reduction works, and millions more smokers could benefit from it. But for it to really change society, smokers need the facts: and that starts with healthcare professionals,” states IEVA.
Three experts from King's College London and the public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) have recently addressed health professionals, focusing on "myths about e-cigarettes and vaping".
"E-cigarettes (vapes) are currently the most popular aid used to quit smoking in England and are used by around 4.3 million adults in Great Britain, the majority of whom are ex-smokers," the authors state, emphasising that " ... vaping poses only a small fraction of the health risks of smoking and that smokers should be encouraged to use vaping products ... for stopping."
The experts fear that myths about vaping “risk undermining the use of these products as cessation aids.”
IEVA president Dustin Dahlmann agrees: "The facts about harm reduction are on the table. If many more smokers who cannot quit by other means were to switch to e-cigarettes, millions of people worldwide could live better and longer lives. Health policy in the UK should be a shining example to all policy makers."
The UK government advises that vaping is at least 95 percent less harmful than smoking. The risk of developing cancer is considered to be 99.5 percent lower for vapers than for smokers. These findings have been substantiated in multiple publications over recent years.
But too many smokers misjudge the comparative harm of vaping. Only 28 percent of smokers in Europe know that vaping is less harmful than smoking.
"It is critical that smokers are given the facts about harm reduction. Health professionals have responsibility as clinicians in direct contact with people who want to quit smoking”, says Dustin Dahlmann.
References:
- Public Health overview, European Commission. Link
- “There are many myths about e-cigarettes and vaping”, Nursing Times 22/02/2023. Link
- Evidence review of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products 2018, Public Health England. Link
- European adult smokers’ perceptions of the harmfulness of e-cigarettes relative to combustible cigarettes, European Journal of Public Health 2020. Link
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.
Join the discussion
Parliament Fears Two
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs faced questions from a Conservative MP and, oddly, a member of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
-
by Dave Cross
Harm Reduction For The Rich
The United Kingdom risks becoming a harm reduction country only for the wealthy, according to Michael Landl of the World Vapers’ Alliance
-
by Dave Cross
Sacrificing Health For 2p Cut
Tory Government alienates vaping voters with its mission to cut tax by an unaffordable 2p to attract voters by placing a tax on vape products in the forthcoming budget
-
by Dave Cross
Scotland Announces Single-Use Vape Action
A ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes in Scotland is due to come into effect on 1 April 2025, under proposed legislation published today
-
by Dave Cross
