Most countries have professional medical organizations that are opposed to vaping, but when a reputable nursing organization endorses vaping, we can hope that things are moving in a positive direction. The vaping community, especially in the US, is used to being demonized by public health organizations like the FDA, CDC, and AMA, and they can easily ignore them because they will eventually support them anyway.
Vaping can change a person’s life, and there is a lot of scientific evidence to prove it. From the PHE report that vaping is safer than smoking in 2015, to a recent study by Lorillard that found secondhand smoke to be 1,500 times more toxic than vaping, health professionals are starting to take notice of the benefits of vaping. One of the new organizations that openly endorse vaping is DANA (Drug and Alcohol Nurses of Australasia Incorporated).
Dana uses vape to reduce harm
DANA is a group of substance abuse treatment professionals who are well aware of the dangers of tobacco. As in most other countries, people struggling to recover from substance abuse often resort to tobacco. It’s called replacement therapy, and it works wonders.
Patients who are trying to quit smoking or drinking often use tobacco as a substitute for their medications. And doctors and nurses have advocated this alternative for decades. However, these same health professionals cannot ignore the harmful effects of tobacco and secondhand smoke. They believe that tobacco is the only option for patients, so they often advocate this alternative.
But now DANA leaders believe they have another option that is safer than most existing methods. According to an official statement titled “E-cigarettes for Harm Reduction,” the Australian nursing organization believes e-cigarettes could prevent millions of tobacco-related deaths among drug addicts.
“Patients with alcohol and drug dependence have higher rates of smoking and have greater difficulty quitting than non-smokers. They are more likely to die from smoking-related diseases than from addiction. E-cigarettes are electronic devices that heat liquids with or without nicotine into vapor that can be inhaled, replicating the feel and action of smoking, and are now considered a legal alternative to tobacco. Nurses play an important role in assessing patients’ smoking habits, assessing their condition, providing advice and helping smokers reduce or quit their smoking habits.”
DANA is not the first nursing organization to endorse vaping as a safe and effective way to quit smoking. In July 2017, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Physicians made a similar announcement.
Source: Matt Rowland - Vapes.com
Translated by: The Vape Club
