Earlier this year, the American Cancer Society (ACS) issued a statement that it recognized vaping as an effective smoking cessation tool. Many vaping advocacy groups across the country took notice. Some said the ACS missed a public health opportunity. Others thought it was a slow but right step.
It seems that the ACS didn’t anticipate the backlash from the vaping community with its February announcement. Or perhaps it was onto something. But whatever the reason, the ACS’s latest public health announcement paints vaping in a more positive light.
“Although ENDs deliver nicotine, they do not contain harmful carcinogens. It is important to dispel the public’s misconceptions about the dangers of tobacco and educate them about the importance of quitting. While there is still much information about the side effects of ENDs that is not yet clear, there is enough evidence for the ACS to speak up with the main goal of helping people quit smoking, which kills half a million people each year and causes 30% of all cancers in the United States.”
“Tobacco causes over 7 million deaths worldwide and costs the public $200 billion a year. Tobacco was responsible for more lung cancer than breast cancer in 1985.”
Opponents of e-cigarettes often argue that more information is needed to confirm the harm reduction potential of switching from cigarettes to vapes. However, as noted above, the ACS has found sufficient evidence to show that people benefit more from vaping than from smoking.
The agency also confirmed that it is the combusted tobacco that is harmful to health, not the nicotine. Cigarette smoke contains up to 7,000 toxic substances, and more than 70 of them can cause cancer.
ACS refutes false rumors about vaping
The six-page report includes sections on how the public has been misled by misinformation campaigns and demonization of vaping. The agency estimates that about a third of the population mistakenly believes that vaping is as harmful as smoking.
In this report, the ACS seems to have taken a more pro-vaping stance. Right now, we’re not sure whether to celebrate or cheer the ACS statement. But with legislation like San Francisco’s flavor ban and the FDA, the ACS’s comforting words seem timely.
