n Issue 32 , we introduced
I our new Mythbusters series , where we confront a myth or misleading piece of information working its way through the media . Between these two issues it was No Smoking Day . This is , of course , a huge day in the vaping calendar as vapers around the country champion the solution that helped them quit . It is also the day when charities encourage smokers to consider a smoke-free life , including Yorkshire Cancer Research which released its own myth-busting documentary , ‘ Vaping Demystified ’. The documentary features many of the great and good from the UK ’ s public health and tobacco harm reduction communities . Familiar faces include Hazel Cheeseman of ASH , Dr Sharon Cox of UCL ’ s Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group and Martin Dockrell , tobacco control lead at Public Health England . The documentary surveyed 100 people from Yorkshire about vaping , with the results showing why a video like this is needed in 2021 .
It found :
• Fifty six of those questioned believed vaping was less harmful than smoking
• Forty people had heard or read worrying things about vaping
• Only a third thought vaping should be promoted for stopping smoking
• Two-thirds thought that there wasn ’ t enough available evidence for smokers to make the decision to switch while
• Ninety people said that the risks of vaping were ‘ unclear ’ to the public .
After a brief history of the e-cigarette , the documentary explored why so many people in the UK remain sceptical about vaping despite the overwhelming evidence that e-cigarettes are less harmful than tobacco and help smokers quit .
Natasha Loder , Health Policy Editor at The Economist , gave her perspective on the role the media plays in perpetuating vaping myths . Counterfactual ’ s Clive Bates argued that the media whipping up vaping hysteria can be linked to a broader anti-nicotine agenda that can even be found in science journals . The media section features PHE ’ s brilliant demonstration comparing the effects of smoking and vaping on the lungs . The video was released at the height of the 2019 lung illness outbreak dubbed ‘ EVALI ’ by the CDC . Dr Cox explains that the cases continue to be linked to nicotine e-cigarettes , with the Economist ’ s Loder noting that this continues to be reported as a vaping story , rather than a cannabis one despite the CDC acknowledging that the outbreak was largely linked to illicit THC products .
In one highlight of the documentary , the narrator asked whether smokers were a ‘ casualty of a clash between morals and money ’.
This section looked at the ongoing conflict between billionaire anti-vaping philanthropist Michael Bloomberg , harm reduction advocates , the tobacco control community , the World Health Organization and Philip Morris International ’ s ( PMI ) controversial Foundation for a Smoke-Free World . US politics have undoubtedly had a huge impact on vaping in the UK , but there has been no youth vaping issue here , nor any cases of ‘ EVALI ’. Bates believes that the scientific community understands this which is why the UK is a world-leader in championing vaping .
Wrapping up , the experts explored what role vaping can play in helping England go smoke-free by 2030 .
Vaping Demystified provided a damning expose of the misleading narratives around vaping in the UK while championing the e-cigarette ’ s potential for saving the lives of seven million people who continue to smoke .
This looks set to join Canadian director Aaron Biebert ’ s ‘ A Billion Lives ’ and ‘ You Don ’ t Know Nicotine ’ on the essential watchlist for vapers and sceptics alike .
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