Recalling our conversation with Dockrell - unsurprised

Addiction Economy Thought For Today - Haha, no surprise to Joe Woof and I! In our Vaping White Paper we reported my conversation with Dockrell and Arnott which showed us that, in our view, understandably given smoking cessation is their life's work, it loomed too large in their minds to have a coherent view on vapes.

"At the recent E-Cigarette Summit SocietyInside was told by Martin Dockrell Tobacco Control Lead of Public Health England that "nicotine in vapes is not the same as nicotine in cigarettes’ suggesting that young people just think they are dependent, but they'll get over it as they get older and that “it’s not a problem that needs solving” and by Deborah Arnott, director of ASH that by airing concerns about vaping cessation and young people ‘we are focusing on the wrong problem.”

This is not correct. Inhaled nicotine is equally addictive when taken in a cigarette as a vape. In fact evidence about the way vapes are consumed, almost constantly throughout the day, shows they may be even more addictive than cigarettes.  Furthermore, a recent study testing the effectiveness of Cytisinicline for smoking and vaping cessation found only a third of vapers who wanted to quit were able to abstain for 12 weeks. These quit rates are similar to those for smoking, not substantially higher as one would expect if vaping were much less dependence-forming.

This focus on smoking overlooks the potential harms and current needs of non-smokers, particularly children and young adults. But will also apply in time to those who swap to vapes through the government’s ‘Swap to Stop’ campaign. No bespoke cessation support is currently being offered to any vapers under this scheme. This must change.

The radio interview with Chris Van Tulleken also asks what to do to help smokers quit - we propose that they should be available on the NHS,

"Vapes should be to cigarettes, like methadone is to heroin - one of the ways to help smokers quit, but because of its own addictive qualities and negative health effects, should be strenuously prevented as a lifestyle product for recreational use. Vapes are like a medicine with nasty side effects - an important treatment for a terrible illness, in this case preventing millions of deaths from smoking, but not to be taken on its own.

Our Vaping White Paper is here

https://bit.ly/3vr5wo2

And of course spot on for our newest White Paper which shows how important it is that policy shouldn't get close to business in areas such as this. That White Paper is here:

https://bit.ly/3x5yTgo


https://lnkd.in/eYiAkrYE