NEWS
RELAX TPD REGULATIONS
TO ENCOURAGE MORE
SMOKERS TO QUIT
- MPs TOLD
FEATUR
IN
PROFES G
SO
POLOS R
A’S
TOAST
More e-cigarette research and raising the cost of smoking would also help
P MPs that the risks of breathing in e-cigarette vapour were ‘minuscule’ and called for regulatory changes to encourage more
smokers to quit. Dr Lion Shahab, Senior Lecturer Health Psychology, University
College London, clarified the important differences between
tobacco (combusted or heat-not-burn) and e-liquid to confirm the
safety of the latter.
Polosa, Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of
Catania, in Italy, said: “Vaping aerosols are 95% less harmful
than common tobacco - the risks are minuscule. I’d personally
be more concerned to breathe the air in London than having a
person vaping next to me.” “Tobacco contains about 70 compounds which are carcinogenic,
the big problem comes from combustion. E-cigarettes contain
nicotine, glycerin and flavouring. They are not burned, merely
warmed. Heat-not-burn is somewhat different in that it uses
tobacco and is heated to a greater degree than e-liquid.”
Speaking at a recent hearing of the House of Commons Science
and Technology Select Committee, he said that allowing larger
e-liquid refill bottles could encourage more smokers to switch
to vaping. Paul Aveyard, coordinating editor at the Cochrane Tobacco
Addiction Group, said there was almost no doubt that people
were better off switching from smoking to e-cigarettes.
rominent vaping advocate Professor Ricardo Polosa has told
He added: “Changing the size of the bottle may impact on cigarette
smokers considering switching as the cost will come down.
“There are benefits to exclusively using vaping products after
smoking, mostly in respiratory health, which we have seen
improve by up to fifty percent. There are also improvements in
blood pressure. Although we still need to build a bigger knowledge
base, we are already looking at a potential health revolution.
“Our priority is to have as many smokers as possible switch to
less harmful products.”
Inevitably, the talking point about vaping as a gateway to smoking
(especially for teenagers) came up. Professor Peter Hajek, an
expert on the behaviours that motivate smoking, pointed out that
people should consider what teenagers try first before arguing
e-cigs are leading to combustibles, and Mark Conner reminded
the panel that though adolescent vaping is up, smoking rates are
falling, so the two are not so closely linked.
30 | VM15
Professor Polosa made his most memorable point while explaining
how studies on high aldehyde emissions from e-cigarettes are
being misused. Holding up a piece of burnt toast as an example,
the professor said that study trials sometimes use e-liquids which
have been overheated and cooked, which does not accurately
reflect our eating nor vaping habits.
“e-cigarettes need to
address the psychological
as well as the biological
factors associated with
smoking addiction.”