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PETALING JAYA: For decades, governments around the world have tried to get smokers in their countries to quit using various tobacco control measures.
While some measures have worked and some produced unsatisfactory results, discussions of the solution in recent years have shifted to nicotine vaping, as smokers and ex-smokers are heavily favoring it as an alternative to smoking for several reasons.
Numerous studies, including a recent toxicological evaluation by the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment in the UK, indicated that nicotine vaping is less harmful than smoking.
But while it may be a more viable alternative to cigarettes, can vaping really help smokers kick the habit?
A survey recently released by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the UK, a public health charity and tobacco control advocate working to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco, said that more than half of vapers in Great Britain they are ex-smokers and the proportion has been growing year after year.
“E-cigarette use is largely limited to current and former smokers, and use among never-smokers remains low. Of the 3.2 million current vapers, just under 2 million are former smokers and 1.2 million are current smokers, ”said ASH, which was established by the Royal College of Physicians, a British professional body dedicated to improving the practice. of medicine with a rich history. more than 500 years.
In fact, the University College of London Smoking Toolkit study, which provides monthly data on smoking behavior and tobacco control measures, shows a clear link between the rate of smokers who quit and the prevalence of vaping.
Recent evidence from a randomized controlled trial also showed that vaping was almost twice as effective as Nicotine Replacement Therapy in helping smokers to quit smoking in an England Cessation Service setting.
This could help explain why 41% of former smokers in the ASH survey chose to vape to help them quit smoking. Another 20% said they started vaping to avoid smoking again.
While the main reason current smokers give to vape is to cut back (24%), help them quit smoking (14%) and prevent relapse (14%).
And interestingly, roughly 60% of all vapers see that improving their health is their main reason for vaping.
Still, while there is growing evidence that vaping is a viable alternative to smoking, it is important to note that this is not without its strings attached. Health experts and several studies have rated being less harmful than cigarettes dependent on strict adherence to the standards and regulations of vape products, including the nicotine in the e-liquid.
In the UK, regulations have been put in place to regulate products as consumer products, including a ban on sale to minors under 18, putting a limit on the concentration of nicotine in e-liquid, controlling marketing activities and Products must be child-proof and tampered with. -evident.
This is something that industry players in Malaysia have long called for, and the introduction of a tax regime on vaping products starting next year is widely seen as the first step towards regulation. However, it is critical that a regulatory framework is introduced that covers all facets of the industry, including the regulation of nicotine-containing e-liquids.
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