Parliamentary
group calls on government to keep promoting the benefits of vaping and to
consider the concerns around vaping
A group of MPs and peers have urged the government to build
on Public Health England’s Stoptober anti-smoking campaign, which for the first
time included and positively encourages the use of vaping as a viable means to
quit smoking. They considered the following as part of their investigations -
An Increase in
those trying vaping as a quitting mechanism and how to encourage more
would-be-vapers
The State of the Vaping Nation, the report by the All Party
Parliamentary Group (APPG) on E-Cigarettes, calls on the government and public
health bodies to sustain and capitalise on the level of public engagement with
vaping seen during Stoptober by launching a continuous programme to promote and
accurately communicate the positive health benefits for vaping.The APPG points
out evidence it has seen from the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) regarding
the considerable rise in starter-kit sales this Stoptober, suggesting a
significant increase in those smokers trying vaping for the first time.
Mark Pawsey, chairman of the APPG on E-Cigarettes, said:
“The positive public health message regarding vaping has up to now been failing
to get across to the UK’s remaining 7.6m smokers. The Public Health England
campaign was a welcome change and has had an obvious effect, but it needs to be
sustained, not just a one off.
“That’s why we are calling upon the government to ensure
such campaigns become the norm, not an exception, so that the UK can fully
exploit the public health potential of vaping. Without these campaigns the current
mixed messages surrounding vaping will continue and create a confusing
picture.”
Doug Mutter, a board member at the UKVIA, added: “When our
own esteemed health bodies already recognise vaping as being at least 95% less
harmful than smoking, why are we preventing people from making the switch by
banning most advertising?”
Perceptions and
Confusion Stopping People trying vaping as an alternative
The APPG report also highlights a trend in the public
perception of vaping as an alternative to smoking which could prevent people
trying this as a viable way of quitting e.g only 20% of people identifying that
vaping is “a lot less harmful” than smoking, compared to 31% in 2015.In
addition, the number of adults who believe that vaping products are “as
harmful”, or “more harmful” than smoking has nearly quadrupled from 2013 to
2017 from 7% to 26%. The group believes
misinformation is actively preventing smokers from making the decision to
switch; the number of UK vapers increased by just 4% from 2016 to 2017, compared
to 86% in 2013, 62% in 2014, and 24% in 2015.
Review and
Enforcement to help those considering Vaping to address Vapers or would be
Vapers Concerns
The APPG report also recommends an urgent review by the
government of vaping regulation as per its commitment in the Tobacco Control
Plan, particularly the European Union’s Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) that
effectively puts vaping in the same bracket as smoking and recommends that
Trading Standards ensures that current vaping regulations, particularly
relating to product standards within the TPD, are continuously and vigorously
enforced and that the government reviews and considers steps taken by the
devolved authorities in Scotland and Wales to develop the enforcement powers of
regulators.