NEWS
Confused
Messages About
Vaping
There is little wonder that there is a
certain amount of confusion about
e-cigarettes amongst the non-vaping
community.
Last year it was announced that
e-cigarettes were to be banned from
hospital grounds in Scotland as part of
their ‘smoke free’ policy.
It seems that the message that ‘vaping’
and ‘smoking’ are actually different terms
had not yet filtered through.
Some Scottish health boards used the
‘smoke free’ reason for wanting to ban
vaping while others quoted concerns
over safety.
There was, as one might expect, a lot
of anger from vapers at the news of the
ban. Many interested parties pointed out
that vaping had helped many people quit
smoking and that this must surely be a
good thing.
The good news is that the relevant health
authorities saw sense and decided that
maybe a blanket ban on vaping was not
such a good idea after all.
The report from Public Health England
which said vaping was 95% safer than
smoking traditional cigarettes may
certainly also have played a large part in
18 ISSUE 04 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE
the decision to overturn the ban.
Also according to research done by the
NHS in Greater Glasgow and Clyde 18%
of people in the area who had already
given up smoking had done so with the
aid of electronic cigarettes.
Given that research it would be illogical
to ban people from vaping when it was
vaping that actually helped them quit
smoking in the first place.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s
director of public health Dr Emilia
Crighton has said that “e-cigarettes
do have their place in the fight against
tobacco and are being used effectively to
help people stop smoking altogether”.
In the NHS GGC area at least, clear
signage will be used to indicate areas
where people are allowed to vape.
In addition Health Scotland has also
recommended the use of electronic
cigarettes for those who want to give up
smoking.
The main NHS website even has a
page titled “Using e-cigarettes to stop
smoking” where it tells people that
vaping may help them give up traditional
cigarettes.
The page says: “ Over recent years,
e-cigarettes have become a very popular
stop smoking aid in the UK. Evidence
is still developing on how effective they
are, but many people have found them
helpful for quitting.
“An electronic cigarette is a device that
allows you to inhale nicotine without
most of the harmful effects of smoking.
“E-cigarettes do not produce tar and
carbon monoxide – two of the main
toxins in conventional cigarette smoke.
The vapour from e-cigarettes has been
found to contain some potentially harmful
chemicals also found in cigarette smoke,
but at much lower levels.”
It goes on: “on current evidence,
e-cigarettes carry a fraction of the risk
of cigarettes and they can help you stop
smoking.
“If you want to use an e-cigarette to help
you quit, you’ll give yourself the best
chance if you get expert support from
your local NHS stop smoking service.”
So while there is still confusion in the
population at large about vaping, more
and more people are slowly becoming
aware of its massive potential to help
people quit smoking.