Time to regulate vapes
A RECENT Public Health England’s (PHE) study shows that vaping is positively associated with quitting smoking, staying off smoking, or reducing smoking.
The research study found that 27.2 per cent used a vaping product in their attempt to quit smoking, as compared with just 15.5 per cent who used other nicotine replacement therapies such as gums and patches.
The survey also showed that health risks from vaping were 95 per cent lower than traditional cigarettes but estimated that it had helped more than 50,000 smokers in England to stop smoking cigarettes with the aid of vape in a year.
The study also stated that the issue related to e-cigarettes as a smoking gateway for underage groups could not be proven. Most notably, most young people who had never smoked had also never vaped.
Only between 0.8 and 1.3 per cent of young people who had never smoked were current vapers. With a study by a credible government body that has proven that vaping can indeed be beneficial, there is a need for our government to accelerate the process to pass the vaping bill as soon as possible.
Every year, statistically, more than 20,000 Malaysians are killed by tobacco-caused disease. It is estimated that 43 per cent of men and 1.4 per cent of women, above the age of 15, smoke in Malaysia.
These figures are still alarmingly high and more needs to be done to help smokers in Malaysia to quit, especially if Malaysia wants to achieve the global World Health Organisation Non Communicable
Diseases (WHO NCD) target to achieve a smoking prevalence of 15 per cent by 2025.
We have now reached a point where the majority of smokers are aware that smoking is not good for their health but have difficulty quitting. Globally and nationally, the majority of current smokers would like to give up smoking.
While the risks mentioned are a good incentive to quit, quitting can be hard for some people because of physical, mental and behavioural withdrawal symptoms.
While the government is committed to strengthening the smoking cessation services and now, with the introduction of mQuit Services, there’s still strong evidence that vaping products containing nicotine were significantly more effective for helping people to stop smoking than Nicotine Replacement Therapy.
Evidently, with the positive effects shown from vaping in increasing smoking cessation, industry players have been calling for e-cigarettes to be regulated and taxed covering e-liquid with nicotine.
Regulating zero-nicotine e-liquid only will not suffice as it will lead to other problems, such as the illicit trade of nicotine shots, which can lead to serious health concerns. By having proper regulations, abuse and misuse among new and young vapers can be prevented.
Apart from that, the regulation will certainly encourage industry players to produce the best products and prioritise quality and safety. MUHAMMAD AFIQ
President, Vape Consumer Association of Malaysia