Are e-cigarettes really the solution to the decline of smoking in the UK?
E-cigarettes are increasingly being used by smokers to help quit smoking. This might be true, as reports from the Office for National statistics show a steep decline in all UK countries whilst e-cigarette usage has seen an impressive increase in usage. However, recent studies have pointed to the health risks of e-cigarettes.
Source: Flourish.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed a significant decline in smoking prevalence in the UK for people aged 18 and above.
The trend is specifically higher in Scotland, where the proportion of current cigarette smokers significantly dropped by almost 10% since 2011 (see figure 1).
Source: Flourish.
At the same time, the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) annual survey (see figure 2) revealed that in 2022, approximately 4.3 million survey respondents reported that they currently used an e-cigarette in Great Britain.
This proportion is considerably higher than that observed in 2021 when less than a million vaped.
When current e-cigarette users who are ex-smokers are asked for their main reason for vaping (see figure 3), a majority of respondents say they used vaping as an aid to help them quit smoking, whilst another fifth declared that it helps to keep them off tobacco.
Source: Flourish.
Products have improved over the years, and flavours may be an important motivator for e-cigarette uptake in youth.
“There has been a lot of concern that young people may start vaping because they are attracted to e-liquid flavours”, said Caitlin Notley, a medical professor at the University of East Anglia.
Source: Flourish. https://app.flourish.studio/visualisation/11834676/edit
Moreover, newly published research presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2022 found that vaping may be as damaging to the heart as cigarettes.
The study, which compared 167 vapers,117 smokers and 114 non-smokers revealed that vapers and cigarette smokers had increased blood pressure, along with a heart rate four times faster than normal.
Dr Aruni Bhatnagar, professor of medicine, biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Louisville, said: “These studies add to the growing body of science that shows similar cardiovascular injury among people who use e-cigarettes and those who smoke combustible cigarettes,”
Another author of the study, Dr Sana Majid said: “Pod-based electronic cigarettes are commonly marketed to youth and young adults, as well as people attempting to quit or reduce smoking regular cigarettes.
“However, the long-term health effects of using these novel tobacco products are unknown.
Setting regulations that make it more difficult for youth to start using e-cigarettes is an important part of achieving a tobacco-free future.”
There are strict regulations limiting the percentage of nicotine in e-cigarettes in the UK. The maximum amount of e-liquid present in vapes is 20mg/ml.
If vaping can help smokers quit, it could save some of the 78,000 UK citizens who die each year from tobacco-related conditions such as cancer, respiratory and circulatory diseases, and diseases of the digestive system.
Whilst this appears as positive news and supports the UK’s government plan to become a smoke-free nation by 2030, more research into the health risks of using e-cigarettes needs to be undergone.
