FEATURE
STATE OF THE VAPING NATION
A GROUP OF MPS AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS ARE CHALLENGING MISINFORMATION ABOUT VAPING
BY LEO FORFAR
Vaping, if regulated correctly, could play a significant role in
preventing smoking-related illnesses in the UK, according to an
influential group of politicians.
The all-party parliamentary group for e-cigarettes is chaired by
Conservative MP Mark Pawsey who is worried that the positive
public health message of vaping is failing to get across to
the public.
In the forward to the group’s “State of the Vaping Nation” report,
he says that “urgent attention” is needed to ensure that people
understand that vaping is vastly less harmful than smoking.
The all-party group is particularly concerned that currently just
over 1 in 10 (13%) people understand the relative risk of vaping
versus smoking compared to nearly 1 in 5 (21%) four
years ago.
Mr Pawsey said: “The positive public health message of
vaping compared to smoking is clearly failing to get across to
the seven million remaining smokers in the UK. This requires
urgent attention.
“At the moment we run the risk of not fully exploiting the public
health potential of vaping…There is no doubt that the current
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mixed messages surrounding vaping are creating a confusing
picture; not just for consumers, but also for policy makers and
regulators who are supposed to find balance in the cacophony
of competing views.”
Overall the report’s tone is optimistic. Pawsey spoke positively
of recent campaigns and initiatives that have pushed vaping
into the mainstream, such as Stoptober which he sees as a
‘welcome start’ to action he wants to see happen throughout
the entire year.
The report calls for a series of measures including:
• the government and public health bodies to begin an immediate
new program to “accurately communicate the positive public
health message of vaping to the remaining seven million
smokers in the UK.”
• a review of current vaping regulation and “in particular
the disproportionate aspects of [the] Tobacco Products
Directive that effectively put vaping in the same bracket as
smoking.
• consistent and rigorous enforcement of current vaping
regulations by trading standards departments and