The team behind a recent study into vaping trends in the UK are criticising the media for distorting its data to promote a false narrative.
Scotland’s national newspaper, the Scotsman, used a study from the University of Stirling from July 28 to argue that e-cigarettes are a gateway to smoking, particularly for teens and pre-teens. The author cited research funded by Cancer Research UK that concluded 40% of teens who tried vaping went on to smoke.
Professor Linda Bauld, who was involved in the study, has contacted the Scotsman for misrepresenting her research, adding to misconceptions about vaping that could put smokers at risk of switching, potentially putting people's lives at risk.
“This study does not prove that trial leads to young people taking up smoking, and the researchers themselves are careful to point that out in their report,” Ms Bauld told PressReader. “Before e-cigarettes became popular, in 2013, 13 per cent of 15-year-olds in Scotland were smokers. By 2015, that had fallen to 7 per cent, and only 2 per cent of 13-year-olds were smokers. If e-cigarettes were leading to underage smoking, then the rate should have increased.”
Major UK medical groups, such as the Royal College of Physicians, agree that using e-cigarettes eliminates most of the harms associated with smoking. They also encourage patients who want to quit to vape.
The UK Office for National Statistics shows that smoking rates in the UK fell to 17.2% in 2015 and 15.8% in 2016. The UK now has the lowest smoking rate in Europe.
Ms Bauld said attempts to misrepresent the medical benefits of vaping would undermine all the work being done to improve public health in the UK.
“Tobacco is one of the biggest causes of cancer and kills more people in Scotland prematurely than anything we can do to prevent it,” said Ms Bauld. “We must do everything we can to help smokers quit. That includes understanding the evidence on e-cigarettes.”
Research shows that smoking rates in countries where vaping is popular are also trending in the same direction. A study from the University of California found that the number of Americans quitting smoking with e-cigarettes is at a record high, raising the profile of vaping as one of the most effective smoking cessation tools.
Researchers found that the rate of Americans quitting smoking jumped from 4.5% between 2010 and 2011, to 5.6% between 2014 and 2015. That means about 350,000 smokers quit the habit in 2014 and 2015, and researchers attribute most of it to vaping.
Source: STEVE BIRR - Dailyvaper
Translated by: The Vape Club
