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Vaping and Public Health: An Examination

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Young man using electronic cigarette to smoke in public places.Smoke restriction, smoking ban.Using vaping device with flavoured liquid.Smoking habit, nicotine addict, tobacco industry

If you're trying to figure out what is important for the public to know about vaping, you've come to the right place.

Many people remain confused about vaping and how it stacks up against smoking, which, as most people are now aware, is incredibly bad for your health and actually deadly. We know now that tobacco kills half its users, and that leads to a shocking death toll of at least 100,000 people in the UK each year and seven million lives lost around the world — including close to one million who never smoked at all, but inhaled secondhand cigarette smoke. Earlier this year, Public Health England (PHE) acknowledged that a lot of people still think vaping is as bad of smoking and that this was just not true at all. It said, in a renewed advisory on vaping carried out by a panel of top and independent tobacco experts, that "many thousands of smokers incorrectly believe that vaping is as harmful as smoking; around 40% of smokers have not even tried an e-cigarette." That's a real shame, it says, because if more smokers were aware of the benefits of switching to vaping, and that they'd get a similar or even enhanced experience, they wouldn't think twice about using an e-cigarette straight away. We know there are close to 10 million smokers in the UK today, and around 3.2 million vapers — many of them ex-smokers — and if more changed to vaping, that could contribute "to at least 20,000 successful new quits per year and possibly many more," says the health body.

Top Docs Give Vaping a Check-Up

One of the most substantial pieces of research into vaping in recent years has emerged from the leading medical institution not only in Britain, but possibly the entire world. It comes from the prestigious Royal College of Physicians, whose members sought to weed out vaping fact from fiction and deliver real information to the public about the use of e-cigarettes and any possible risks to human health. "Since e-cigarettes became available in the UK in 2007, their use has been surrounded by medical and public controversy," the college said. "This new 200-page report examines the science, public policy, regulation and ethics surrounding e-cigarettes and other non-tobacco sources of nicotine, and addresses these controversies and misunderstandings with conclusions based on the latest available evidence." The doctors found that "e-cigarettes are likely to be beneficial to UK public health. Smokers can, therefore, be reassured and encouraged to use them, and the public can be reassured that e-cigarettes are much safer than smoking." They said that instead of e-cigarettes being a gateway to smoking, they were far more likely to be a gateway from tobacco, as most people vaping are former smokers who are using e-cigs to get off cigarettes entirely.

Important Points for the Public to Know about Vaping

The most important aspect for the public to know about vaping is that, according to the findings of recent scientific and medical research, it's almost completely harmless compared to lighting up a cigarette and inhaling all the many toxins in tobacco smoke. Those damaging chemicals are just not present in vapour, because an e-cigarette doesn't burn any tobacco; it only heats a solution containing a flavour and nicotine, and sometimes just the flavour alone. "Our new review reinforces the finding that vaping is a fraction of the risk of smoking, at least 95% less harmful, and of negligible risk to bystanders," said Professor John Newton, Director for Health Improvement at PHE. "Yet over half of smokers either falsely believe that vaping is as harmful as smoking or just don’t know." He added: "It would be tragic if thousands of smokers who could quit with the help of an e-cigarette are being put off due to false fears about their safety." If you're a smoker who has listened to the expert advice that vaping is close to 100% safer than smoking and you’re looking to switch to an e-cigarette, Electric Tobacconist has just what you need to get vaping, and soon. For less than £20, you can get a great e-cigarette starter kit with wonderful flavours you'll love and that will last for ages — and we'll deliver for free in the UK on orders of £10 or more. Order yours now!

By Chris Pearse

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