Vaping seen as safe smokefree weapon - experts
Fears around e-cigarettes have gone up in a puff of smoke, as health officials say they could be a valuable weapon in the country’s fight to become smokefree.
The Ministry of Health legalised e-cigarettes in March, but stopped short of endorsing them as a safe means of quitting smoking, saying the evidence wasn’t there.
This month, the ministry changed its stance, stating a systematic review found evidence that e-cigarettes could help people to quit smoking, and they could be a valuable tool to achieving the ministry’s Smokefree 2025 goal.
‘‘Smokers who have tried other methods of quitting without success could be encouraged to try e-cigarettes to stop smoking,’’ the ministry said.
‘‘When used as intended, e-cigarettes pose no risk of nicotine poisoning to users ... [and] release negligible levels of nicotine and other toxicants into ambient air with no identified health risks to bystanders.
The ministry acknowledged the review found that e-cigarettes can help people to quit smoking, but acknowledged the evidence was weak due to little data.
‘‘Expert opinion is that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than smoking tobacco but not completely harmless.
‘‘A range of toxicants have been found in e-cigarette vapour including some cancer-causing agents but, in general, at levels much lower than found in cigarette smoke or at levels that are unlikely to cause harm.
‘‘Smokers switching to e-cigarettes are highly likely to reduce their health risks and for those around them,’’ the ministry said.
There are no mandatory product safety requirements specifically for e-cigarettes in New Zealand, however generic product safety standards apply.
The ministry would continue to monitor the uptake of e-cigarettes and their health impact at individual and population levels including long-term effects and their effectiveness for smoking cessation as products, evidence and technologies develop.
Vaping in smokefree places is not illegal, but individual organisations can ban the use of e-cigarettes as part of their own smokefree policies.
The Wellington City Council adopted the ministry’s earlier stance as part of its Smokefree Action Plan, which included an anti-vape stance.
Councillor Brian Dawson said the council would consider the ministry’s new position but was not rushing to change its smokefree policy.
He believed vaping was an activity that was likely to annoy people in crowded places and the policy was about courtesy rather than health.
‘‘We would like to see smoking stopped outright, so would encourage people to switch to vaping – but not in smokefree areas.’’
Meanwhile, Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said it was unlikely the ministry’s stance was sufficient to change the smokefree policy that included vaping, which was introduced in July.
Action on Smoking and Health programme manager Boyd Broughton believed e-cigarettes had a part to play in the smokefree quest.
E-cigarettes were safer than tobacco but were not the silver bullet, he said.
‘‘In the UK we saw there was a large uptake at the start but after four years it plateaued.’’
Vaping was a good option for smokers who wanted to quit but there were still issues such as advertising that might attract young people, he said.
Massey University associate professor of Public Health Marewa Glover said the new ministry stance was ‘‘fantastic’’ and meant New Zealand was now well ahead of many countries and following in the footsteps of Britain, where e-cigarettes had helped to reduce smoking.
‘‘It’s a very progressive stance. I am very happy the ministry made a science, evidence-based decision. This was the right and brave position to take.
‘‘It shows New Zealand is more compassionate towards people who smoke and how hard it is to stop.’’
"Expert opinion is that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than smoking tobacco but not completely harmless.''
Ministry of Health