As part of a Government initiative to eradicate smoking, a “Green Paper” has been issued to help introduce new measures over the upcoming years, designed to completely remove tobacco smoke from British households. The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) has recently revealed in a new report that nearly 6 percent of British teenagers, above the age of sixteen, in 2018 were e-cigarette users or what is more colloquially referred to as “vapers.”
Tobacco Smoke: A “Dying Trend”
The growing trend in vaping does raise the question of whether smoking cigarettes is a “dying trend” and, if the Government’s plans to eradicate smoking tobacco are practical in just over a decade.
The report highlighted that nearly 52 percent of those surveyed stated they used e-cigarettes as an aid to deter themselves from smoking a cigarette; the findings depict a significant increase from 48.8 percent previously.
The CEO of Vapemate, Simon Manthrope, commented on the new Green Paper’s proposals: “A £6bn strain on the NHS and being the main cause of 80-90% of small cell and non-small cell lung cancers demonstrate the cost of smoking in our society…Solutions such as vaping can relieve both the financial strain of tobacco addiction, but can also serve as an aid to help rid the nation of one of our deadliest vices.”
He added, “We hope that greater education and support around using e-cigarettes responsibly is given to help smokers quit for good.”
Is Vaping Safer?
While a presumption is often made that vaping is less unhealthy than smoking, experts say that without long-term studies, it isn’t possible to conclude that it is completely safe.
There are an estimated 600 ingredients in the average cigarette, and when burned, these generate over 7000 chemicals of which 70 are known to have carcinogenic properties.
Although, e-cigarettes also contain carcinogens and irritants, as reported by a 2016 study published in Environmental Science & Technology, the cocktail of chemicals is significantly lower than the average cigarette and are 95 percent less harmful than their counterpart.
Furthermore, levels of the main carcinogen in e-cigarettes found in users were similar to those found in the average non-smoker.
It’s often argued that e-cigarettes make quitting smoking cigarettes easier for smokers, with their lower nicotine levels offering a “healthier” substitute.
A No-No for Non-Smokers
Nonetheless, there are concerns that e-cigarettes could be adopted as a “gateway drug” to more addictive substances by non-smokers, who may be influenced into using them by peer pressure.
The British Heart Foundation’s Associate Medical Director, Dr Mike Knapton, stated: “We would not advise non-smokers to take up e-cigarettes, but they can be a useful tool for harm reduction and to stop smoking.”
The promotion of e-cigarettes to encourage smokers to quit, and the Green Paper’s aim to “include options for revenue raising to support action on smoking cessation” (in other words providing funding for ‘stop smoking’ services), doesn’t imply any action against tobacco companies, such as increased taxation or the banning of certain classes of cigarette. Without such measures, can the ambitions of the Green paper be achieved?
Despite only 15 percent of the UK population eighteen years and above being cigarette smokers, and with more moving towards vaping, it may be overly optimistic to conclude that tobacco smoking will be obsolete from the UK’s streets by 2030.
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