A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW of 400 vaping studies commissioned by the English government has firmly concluded that vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking. Meanwhile Australian governments continue to mislead the public with untruthful information about vaping.
The independent review is the eighth in a series of reports originally commissioned by Public Health England (PHE) and now the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID).
Overall, the review concluded that “the estimate that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking ”remains broadly accurate, at least over short term and medium term periods”
Longer-term studies are needed to confirm long-term safety, but the report confirms that
“vaping is effective for stopping smoking” and that “smokers should be encouraged to use vaping products (or approved medicines) for stopping smoking, or as alternative nicotine delivery devices to reduce the health harms of smoking”
However, “vaping is not risk-free” and people who have never smoked should not vape.
England has the highest vaping rate in the world with 8.3% of adults vaping in 2022. Of these, 31% are currently dual users (smoking and vaping). Vaping is almost exclusively confined to smokers and former smokers.
Only 0.6% of vapers have never smoked.
Key findings
Toxicants: using vaping products leads to a substantial reduction in toxicants compared to smoking,
Cancer: vaping leads to lower exposure to many of the chemicals that cause cancer
Lung disease: vaping reduces exposure to the toxicants which cause lung damage and “is likely to slow down the development of respiratory diseases”
Cardiovascular disease risk: is expected to be much less than for smoking
Blood pressure: is lower in people who vape than people who smoke
Oral and dental health: switching from smoking to vaping is “likely to be beneficial” for oral and dental health
Nicotine dependence: the risk and severity of nicotine dependency for vaping is lower than for cigarette smoking
Poisoning: poisoning by accidental ingestion is rare, and in children is often preventable
Fires: In 2021, there were 5,706 fires caused by cigarettes and cigarette lighters. This compared to 15 fires caused by vaping products
Explosions: are very rare but can be serious. Carrying the vaping product in a trouser pocket was the most common cause of explosions.
Meanwhile in Australia…
While the evidence for vaping is growing, Australian health authorities continue to mislead the public and run scare campaigns to create fear and doubt. They focus on the small and potential harms of vaping without comparing it to the alternative, deadly cigarettes.
The federal Health Department deceptively says on its website
“Currently, there is insufficient evidence to promote the use of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation” and “many scientists are concerned that using e-cigarettes could increase risk of lung disease, heart disease and cancer”
Organisations such as the National Health and Medical Research Council, National Centre for Epidemiology and Public Health, Australian Medical Association, Cancer Council and Heart Foundation, Lung Foundation Australia, Australian Council on Smoking and Health, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation and the federal and state health departments are all responsible for misleading the public.
The review found that correcting this misinformation could lead to more vaping, less smoking and improved population health.
The Australian government needs to listen. By opposing vaping it is failing to help hundred of thousands of Australian smokers switch from a deadly habit to a far less harmful one
Independent expert comments
Independent experts have made glowing comments about the research review.
Dr Sarah Jackson: “The evidence is clear. If you’re a smoker, you can substantially reduce the risks to your health by switching completely to e-cigarettes and continuing to use them for as long as you need to avoid relapse to smoking”
Professor Peter Hajek: “Smokers should be emphatically advised that switching to vaping removes almost all of the risks of smoking.”
Professor Lion Shahab: “Nicotine vaping is far less harmful than smoking tobacco. Encouraging smokers who are unable to stop smoking to switch to these reduced harm products will benefit population health”