“Them things’ll kill ya quicker than fags” apparently!

[HOV]

Evidence review of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. A report commissioned by Public Health England. 6th Jan 2018.


It’s a good morning for vaping. With studies proving more and more inclined to find peripheral risks with vape, for example, it being a “gateway for teens towards smoking” This kind of finding from a scientific study always point to a lack of controversial information being found. The best way for it to make headlines is therefore to make an unsubstantiated claim.

The latest report on e-cigarettes from Public Health England says that there is a lack of evidence for British teens converting to traditional forms of tobacco after use of e-cigarettes. They pretty much suggest that the evidence is equally inconclusive in North America. All social impact studies on vaping have come up with the same conclusion that “common liability” factors as the main player.

Even with this being the case, “Concern has been expressed that e-cigarette use will lead young people into smoking,” Prof. Linda Bauld, author and Professor of Health Policy, University of Stirling, said in the PHE press release. “But in the UK, research clearly shows that regular use of e-cigarettes among young people who have never smoked remains negligible, less than 1%, and youth smoking continues to decline at an encouraging rate.” Therefore this kind of discussion becomes smoke and mirrors to distract people away from the increasingly, glaringly obvious health benefits from quitting cigarettes via the use of electronic cigarettes. Keeping the payroll of big tobacco well oiled and the gravy of that particular train at its perfect temperature.

That being said, the study is a good read and should be used as another way to demonstrate to the skeptics that perhaps people are looking into this sort of thing and that just possibly we do know what’s in them, contrary to that very common argument found on the front steps of bars and locals across the country. I can hear it now “yeah… but you don’t know what’s in them things” said the shady character clambering to the centre of attention with tobacco stained fingers and a condescending tone. “Them things’ll kill ya quicker than fags” apparently! This all, of course, alluding to “Something I read in the paper”.

There are a plethora of gems that can be taken from this study. Here is a brief overview of the highlights:

· “Vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking and switching completely from smoking to vaping conveys substantial health benefits;

· “E-cigarettes could be contributing to at least 20,000 successful new quits [in the U.K.] per year and possibly many more;

· “E-cigarette use is associated with improved quit success rates over the last year and an accelerated drop in smoking rates across the country;

· “Many thousands of smokers incorrectly believe that vaping is as harmful as smoking; around 40% of smokers have not even tried an e-cigarette;

· “There is much public misunderstanding about nicotine. Less than 10% of adults understand that most of the harms to health from smoking are not caused by nicotine;

· “The use of e-cigarettes in the UK has plateaued over the last few years at just under 3 million;

· “The evidence does not support the concern that e-cigarettes are a route into smoking among young people. Youth smoking rates in the UK continue to decline. Regular use is rare and is almost entirely confined to those who have smoked.”


So it appears progress is not something new to the vaping industry and most of the concerns raised over the last few years are all but put to bed. Studies need to continue, more evidence is required over a longer period of time to see exactly what, if any, potential risks that vaping can carry. They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch after all… but perhaps we, as vapers, have fairly blue skies ahead! Martin Dockerell, tobacco control lead for PHE, said: "We are saying no smoking anywhere on the grounds [of hospitals], no smoking in the smoking shelter - that shelter becomes a vaping shelter."

At least there might be a vaping hut at the hospital next time we break an arm…



Credit: Jim Mcdonald (Vaping360), Ann McNeill, Leonie S Brose, Robert Calder, Linda Bauld, and Debbie Robson.
Public Health England. Photo: Sky news.

Author P. Coleman

 

[crustyfolker]

That's a rather good picture of a bloke scratching his balls while vaping. lol.

 

[Myashey]

That's me outside Wetherspoons this morning, waiting for it to open.

 

[Richy]

What's that poking out the cloud , ear horn? Hair roller?

 

[HOV]

That's a rather good picture of a bloke scratching his balls while vaping. lol.

What's that poking out the cloud , ear horn? Hair roller?

Good question... Door number perhaps? Ear rings? Tribal adornment? all are likely