Loucas, Executive Coordinator of
CAPHRA
“Smoking in Britain is
dramatically falling, largely because adults keen to quit
have been able to switch to considerably less harmful
vaping,” says Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of
CAPHRA (Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction
Advocates).
Her comments come as the UK’s Action on
Smoking and Health (ASH) has released a report which it says
shows a ‘vaping revolution’ has taken place over the
past decade. The report is based on ASH’s annual Smokefree
GB survey of more than 13,000 adults, conducted by
YouGov.
“As we say in the world of Tobacco Harm
Reduction (THR), consumers are the evidence. These findings
out of the UK are astounding and frankly represent some
strong motivation for other countries to follow suit,”
says Ms Loucas.
ASH’s latest survey confirms that
the main reason vapers use e-cigarettes is to quit smoking
and prevent them from returning to the deadly habit.
Ex-smokers also say they enjoy vaping, and it saves them
money.
Subsequently, smoking is becoming less popular
in the UK. In England, the number of adults smoking has
fallen from 20% in 2011 to 14% in 2019. Further, the ASH
survey found that vaping was responsible for an additional
70,000 ex-smokers in England alone in 2017.
“The
Asia Pacific is seeing country after country legalising and
regulating vaping, because vaping bans simply don’t work.
The United Kingdom, along with the likes of New Zealand,
have adopted a progressive THR approach to eliminating
smoking and the data proves their success. Give adult
smokers reasonable access to vaping products and they will
switch, and they will survive,” she says.
CAPHRA
says the latest ASH survey out of the UK also quashes the
constant scaremongering internationally that vaping is an
onramp to smoking, not an offramp.
Up from 800,000 a
decade ago, of the 4.3 million vapers now in the UK, about
2.4 million are ex-smokers, 1.5 million current smokers, and
350,000 have never smoked a cigarette.
“Over 90% of
UK vapers are ex-smokers or current smokers. Just over eight
percent have never smoked. That means almost everyone vaping
is doing so to stay off smoking or to reduce their smoking.
Only relatively few non-smokers are vaping and as we know
it’s often experimental or casual, and even fewer would
ever go on to smoke. This is significant proof that vaping
works,” she says.
While ASH in the UK describes the
findings as great news, its chief executive is calling for
greater government action to address smoking and notes the
recent increase in youth vaping.
“Youth vaping is a
global phenomenon and CAPHRA continues to call out parental
responsibility and call for greater enforcement where vaping
is regulated. Retailers caught selling to minors need to
feel the full force of the law. No one wants minors vaping.
At the same time, adults desperate to quit smoking need
reasonable access to safer nicotine products.
“The
vaping revolution is in full swing, but we need to ensure
adult ex-smokers are the revolutionaries. This latest survey
out of the UK shows they overwhelmingly are, but as always,
there’s still some work to do at the edges,” says Nancy
Loucas.
Boasting nearly 15,000 testimonials, CAPHRA is
calling on those who’ve quit cigarettes through smoke-free
nicotine alternatives to tell their story on www.righttovape.org
For
a free digital media repository on tobacco harm reduction in
Asia Pacific – including media releases, images and graphics
– please visit https://apthrmedia.org
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