NEWS
NEWS
VAPING ADVICE FOR PARENTS FROM PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND
Many smokers and non-smokers are aware of the serious health risks , such as cancer and heart disease , which are caused by smoking . More importantly , awareness of second hand smoking has been raised by the public which has led to public bans on smoking in restaurants , shopping centres , schools and other public facilities . Since then smokers have often searched for successful ways to quit the bad habit and find a safer , healthier alternative to smoking like using electronic cigarettes . Since electronic cigarettes were first introduced to Europe in 2006 many smokers have switched from conventional cigarettes to e-cigarettes . In 2015 , just over a million smokers used an e-cigarette to quit smoking , according to last year ’ s Public Health England ’ s ( PHE ) report which said that e-cigarettes are 95 % less harmful than smoking .
“ It is important to distinguish between the harms from exposure to tobacco smoke and e-cigarette vapour , and new advice for parents does that while providing some tips on how to keep their children and themselves safe .”
Many ex-smokers who have converted to vaping say they ’ ve never felt healthier in comparison to when they were smoking cigarettes . However using e-cigarettes is strictly an adult-only activity and care should be taken when vaping at home , especially in households with young children . Public Health England ’ s Chief Nurse Viv Bennet said in a recent blog post : “ It is important to distinguish between the harms from exposure to tobacco smoke and e-cigarette vapour , and new advice for parents does that while providing some tips on how to keep their children and themselves safe . “ There is widespread public awareness of the strong evidence that secondhand smoke is dangerous for others . Most families in England don ’ t allow smoking in the home – more than two thirds of people don ’ t allow smoking anywhere in the home and 9 out of 10 children now live in a smokefree home . “ In contrast to the known harm from secondhand smoke , there ’ s no evidence so far of harm to bystanders from exposure to e-cigarette vapour and experts have assessed the risks to be extremely low .” Public Health England has written a guide for parents when it comes to using e-cigarettes at home and the main areas highlighted include the following :
Copying grown-ups
If younger children see an adult vaping in front of them , there is a chance that they will want to try it out themselves . To remove this risk , e-cigarettes should be kept out of the reach of children . PHE says that parents may allow vaping indoors in order to maintain a smoke-free household but suggests that a smoke and vape-free house where e-cigarettes are only used outdoors might also be an option for some .
Fire risk
Smoking causes around 2,700 house fires in England each year . There have been cases of house fires caused by e-cigarettes , with poorly made or counterfeit chargers often being the culprit . To manage the risk , parents are advised to buy e-cigarettes only from reputable outlets , to use the correct charger and to avoid leaving an e-cigarette charging unattended or overnight .
Poisoning risk
There is a risk of poisoning from swallowing e-cigWarette liquid and , as with medicines and cleaning products , e-cigarettes and e-liquids should be kept out of the reach of children .
18 ISSUE 08 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE