A prominent public health expert has said smoking rates would plummet if misinformation about vaping stopped spreading.
Following a 0.6 percent drop in smoking rates this year, Massey University public health professor Marewa Glover has pointed out that smokeless tobacco products like e-cigarettes could help reverse the current tobacco epidemic.
“These new smoke-free products are less harmful, they are like a burning torch, we put a torch in the hands of the public and we stand on the ice and we will see the ice melt much faster,” she said, citing evidence that smoking rates in New Zealand are slowly coming down.
She also mentioned the UK, saying how smoking rates there had dropped after e-cigarettes were introduced as a smoking cessation tool.
“What is different about the UK is their attitude, they have encouraged their people to switch from cigarettes to e-cigarettes,” said Ms Glover.
Millions of people could change thanks to vaping
In line with Ms Glover's argument, a recent US study from Georgetown University School of Medicine found that up to 6.6 million premature deaths could be avoided nationwide if smokers could switch to e-cigarettes.
Researchers claim that the total life years of the 6.6 million smokers who could switch to vaping would be 86.7 million.
“Old policies need to be combined with policies that encourage the use of e-cigarettes as an alternative to deadly tobacco,” said the study’s co-author.
Smokers should be encouraged to switch to vaping
Associate Professor Marewa Glover has proposed a scheme that would offer vape shop discount vouchers to smokers who want to quit. This would provide the support needed for smokers in low-income groups, while others would be given an economic incentive. In March, New Zealand’s Associate Health Minister Nicky Wagner announced that e-cigarettes would be legalised and sold in 2018.
Source: Diane Caruana - Vapingpost
Translated by: The Vape Club
