Psychologists are speaking out against a ban on nicotine vaping products , pointing out how switching to safer alternatives could impact patients' quality of life.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists has concluded that people with mental illness are more likely to smoke than the general population, so they would benefit greatly from access to safe products that can reduce their risk of developing tobacco-related diseases.
“ E-cigarettes are a safer way to deliver nicotine to people who cannot quit smoking, thereby minimising the harms of smoking and the associated health problems,” the organisation said. “RANZCP supports informed and considered exposure to the significant health benefits of these products.”
Professor David Castle, of the RANZCP, points out that current regulations are against people with mental health problems. According to figures, compared to 16% of mentally healthy people, 70% of people with schizophrenia and 61% of people with bipolar disorder are smokers.
“We’re not banning cigarettes, they’re still available and legal, but they’re limited, and we’re putting the same restrictions on e-cigarettes,” he said. “The theory is that e-cigarettes are much less likely to cause cancer because the real cause of cancer in cigarettes is the chemicals that are released when you burn them. We’re talking about nicotine when it’s released in a vapor, which is a completely different matter.”
Love makes law in Australia
Earlier this month, other Australian doctors also submitted a request to a federal parliamentary committee that smokers should have access to vaping products that satisfy their nicotine cravings without ingesting the harmful chemicals contained in tobacco.
In Australia, e-cigarettes are legal, but the use of nicotine-containing liquids is not. In August 2016, a number of public health advocates, including the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA), submitted a request to the local regulatory body, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), to remove nicotine concentrations below 3.6% from the Poisons Standard. Their argument is that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes have great potential for smoking cessation and are the best tool for tobacco harm reduction.
However, in February 2017, the TGA rejected the request and upheld the nicotine ban. “The TGA has effectively said to the thousands of Australians who have quit smoking with e-cigarettes: You’re doing it wrong. We’re not going to let you do it. But you can still buy cigarettes, that’s fine,” said Professor Attila Danko from NNA.
RANZCP takes a different stance from the rest of the Australian medical community
Renowned doctor and tobacco treatment expert Colin Mandelsohn, who is also an associate professor in the University of NSW's school of public health and pharmacy, said the RANZCP's stance was at odds with the Australian Medical Association.
He praised the RANZCP for looking at the evidence and taking the lead in leaving the association altogether. “The AMA’s argument is really disappointing to me, it ignores all the evidence that is internationally recognised, New Zealand and Canada have looked at the evidence and allowed e-cigarettes,” Mr Mendelsohn said.
However, the president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Michael Gannon, does not believe that the RANZCP's position is in any way contrary to the AMA's.
“The AMA takes a population health perspective and is concerned about vaping normalising smoking and the evidence that it is a conduit for people to use more tobacco,” he said. “The RANZCP represents doctors from both countries who have carefully considered the evidence and have a different perspective on the needs of patients.”
AMA still accepts the bridging hypothesis
Australian doctors submitted a petition to a federal parliamentary committee in early July, pointing out that smoking rates have fallen sharply in countries that allow vaping, such as the UK, and in countries that allow nicotine-containing e-liquids, such as the US. They also showed that the theory that vaping normalizes smoking or becomes a gateway to smoking, as mentioned by the AMA above, is completely untrue.
Source: Diane Caruana - Vapingpost
Translator: The Vape Club
