For decades, tobacco control and public health organizations have sought to stigmatize tobacco, nicotine, smoking and smokers. The invention of vaping, a far safer nicotine alternative which looks like smoking, is a threat to their strongly-held views and the traditional approach.

Attitudes to vaping nicotine are shaped less by the scientific evidence and more by this longstanding prohibitionist approach. Other factors such as moral judgements, values and priorities, politics, vested interests and financial factors also play a role. These considerations help to explain why different organizations have diametrically opposed views, despite using the same evidence.