Stories

A new study has begun to measure the long-term impact of vaping on the body's cardiovascular system. Researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University will assess health markers in people who use e-cigarettes compared to those who smoke and those who do neither. Dr Max Boidin, researcher at the university's Institute of Sport, said: "The study will look at the chronic and acute effects of using a vape on vascular health. "We know already the long-term impact of smoking behaviour on cardiovascular health but for e-cigarettes it is not the case yet.

Nicotine containing vapes (e-cigarettes) are an effective tool to support people who smoke to quit tobacco. Despite this clinicians are wary of promoting vaping to their patients due to concerns that there may not be ‘enough’ evidence and about youth uptake of vaping. In this opinion article we discuss clinicians’ views of vaping and consider the implications that harm misperceptions may have for public health.

Professor Chapman’s attitude to the tobacco industry remains stuck in the tobacco wars of the past. There is no doubt the tobacco industry has an appalling record of selling addictive and deadly products, lying about the health effects of smoking and obstructing tobacco control. Consumers are driving a profound market transformation by opting for reduced-risk, non-combustible nicotine products. These innovative products threaten tobacco companies, much like digital cameras did to Kodak and electric cars do to petrol vehicle manufacturers.

The American Lung Association, as you would expect, is eager to point out the dangers of cigarettes. It wants to create a “tobacco-free future.” It also constantly reminds regulators, journalists and the public of how Big Tobacco lied about smoking. It’s ironic, then, that this public health nonprofit appears to be comfortable with committing the very same sin: lying to people about information that could be critical to their health. 

From the millennia-old cultural custom of the sharing of a peace pipe, to the modern-day bleary-eyed, worse-for-wear sharing of a cigarette outside a club or bar, smoking was perceived as an acceptable and sometimes essential social behaviour. A panacea for calming the nerves, weight loss, and even treating asthma, tobacco and cigarette manufacturers even used doctors to advertise the benefits of smoking their brand. “…More doctors smoke CAMELS than any other cigarette! …”

ASH Deputy Chief Executive Hazel Cheeseman joins BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss the risk of vaping compared to smoking and what needs to be done to reduce youth vaping.

Efforts to cut cigarette smoking will be hampered by a ban on disposal vapes that is expected to be announced imminently, the Government has been warned. The vaping industry is braced for an announcement at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester that single-use vapes will be outlawed as part of a drive to stop children from becoming addicted to the devices. In May, Rishi Sunak voiced concerns concerns that products were being marketed at young children using bright colours and novelty flavours.