UKVIA Column

LAST YEAR FELT LIKE A WATERSHED FOR VAPING BUT IT’S ONLY THE BEGINNING

Words: John Dunne, Director General, UKVIA

Last year felt like a huge watershed moment for those of us who advocate vaping as the best method for helping people quit smoking.

Not only was there a significant political shift in favour of vaping, but you could feel the groundswell of support emanating from the healthcare sector.

Key developments included vape devices being trialled for smokers attending A&E departments and the Department for Health announcing that e-cigs might soon be prescribed to smokers.

Then, at the end of 2021, we had the long-awaited smoking prevalence figures from the Office of National Statistics that showed not only that adult smoking rates were down, but that vaping had hit an all time UK high.

While all of this is important, to me it feels like we are still at the beginning of our mission, or at least on the first rung of the ladder. Lots of work and campaigning is still needed so that vaping – and all the hard-working businesses that keep the industry going – receives the widespread acceptance it deserves.

So, here are a few of the challenges and opportunities we face in 2022:

TOBACCO AND RELATED PRODUCTS REVIEW (TRPR) – this much delayed report will look at how the UK can tackle smoking prevalence in a post-Brexit world, where we can govern ourselves free of the shackles of the EU. The UKVIA submitted a landmark package of recommendations to the TRPR consultation, called a Blueprint for Better Regulation, aimed at maximising the public health benefits of vaping and bolstering ambitions for a “Smokefree 2030”.

TOBACCO CONTROL PLAN (TCP) – another item delayed from last year, this is the process by which the government aims to tackle smoking, which remains the single largest cause of preventable death and the biggest cause of cancer worldwide. The UKVIA has been at the centre of political debates on the TCP, briefing ministers and MPs on the benefits of vaping and supporting the work of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT – from the rise in popularity of disposable vaping goods to the components and plastics in reusable vaping devices, everyone in the vaping industry is acutely aware of its impact on the environment and responsibility towards sustainability. As an Association we talk to our members about this constantly and wherever innovation is shown we will share as best practice.

NON-COMPLIANT VAPING PRODUCTS – crackdowns and raids on unscrupulous sellers of non-compliant products have continued ever since the launch of our campaign to combat this illicit trade was launched last year. We will continue working closely with our partners in Trading Standards and the MHRA to do everything we can to stamp out the sale of non-compliant goods which have the potential to stain our entire industry.

HEALTHCARE – while great strides have been made in getting vaping accepted by health services there’s a huge amount of education work to be done. We have written to more than 300 NHS Trusts across the UK offering support and advice to healthcare workers, to give them the confidence to properly show smokers how to use vaping to give up their habits. In addition, we’ve partnered with the Smoke Free App and launched a “healthcare hub” at

WWW.UKVIA.CO.UK

ANTI-VAPING PROPAGANDA – this has been a constant battle in recent years and nothing tells me that it won’t continue into 2022 and beyond. The World Health Organization, funded by the Bloomberg billions, shows no indications that it will budge from its anti-science position that there “isn’t enough data” about vaping. This is despite organisations such as the former Public Health England, Cancer Research UK and, most recently, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence publicly backing the use of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation services.

LEVELLING UP – all evidence points towards an indisputable correlation between smoking prevalence and deprivation...in short the poorer people are, the more likely they are to smoke. We believe that, as part of the Government’s levelling up agenda, it needs to address this life-shortening issue and promote vaping in these areas of deprivation alongside other nicotine replacement therapies such as gums and patches.

FIGHTING MISPERCEPTIONS – from the EVALI scare to the fear of “popcorn lung”, myths and misperceptions about vaping have swirled around online and in print for more than a decade. Every few days a new story appears in the media linking vaping to anything from erectile disfunction to helping spread COVID! Wherever we get the chance we will provide rebuttals to this nonsense – much of it driven by the desire to publish “clickbait” headlines – and try to keep some sanity in these discussions focusing on science, evidence and plain old common sense!

While great strides have been made in getting vaping accepted by health services there’s a huge amount of education work to be done.