Health experts in the UK have hit out at the British Medical Association (BMA)’s recommendation for stronger vape regulation.
Last week the BMA, a trade union that represents doctors, wrote an open letter urging the government to “take bold and brave actions” to protect the health of children and young people.
It followed a pledge from new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to revive the controversial Tobacco and Vapes Bill that was introduced by his Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak.
The bill includes plans to ban disposable vapes and impose restrictions on their flavours, packaging and how they are displayed in shops.
But the BMA - which opposed the formation of the NHS - said the government should go “even further” by banning all flavours except tobacco and adding tighter packaging, advertising and marketing restrictions.
The report has attracted sharp criticism from top health experts, who say banning all flavours except tobacco would seriously harm the efforts of people trying to give up smoking.
Call to ban flavours is “misguided”
Peter Hajek, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of the Health and Lifestyle Research Unit at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), said: “Some of the regulations that this report proposes are sensible, but the call to ban vape flavours other than tobacco is misguided. The target that doctors should worry about most of all is smoking, and smokers of all ages prefer vapes with non-tobacco flavours.
“The headline concern, proffered to justify this demand, is that eight per cent of 11 to 17-year-olds tried vaping. But it is important to add that smoking in young people is at all time low, and that the figure includes would-be smokers who would otherwise be using the incomparably more risky alternative.”
Spreading misinformation
Professor Hajek said the report wrongly claims vaping is as addictive as smoking and provides a blog - rather than scientific evidence - as a reference.
He added: “Only a small proportion of never-smokers progress to vaping daily. Regulations that prevent the uptake of vaping by youth are needed. However, regulators need to make sure that concerns about very hypothetical future risks of youth vaping do not trump concerns about the very real and present risks of adult smoking.”
Lion Shahab, Professor of Health Psychology and Co-Director of the UCL Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group at University College London, said the report fails to acknowledge the vital role vaping has played in reducing smoking rates in the UK to an all-time low.
He added: “To that end, legislation to protect youth has to be balanced with the need to support smokers to quit, including with e-cigarettes. In this context, some of the proposed recommendations by the BMA are likely to have unintended consequences.”
Professor Shahab pointed to research that shows flavours are important to adults switching from cigarettes to vapes, not just to youth. He said: “.. an outright flavour ban may drive up cigarette use as has been shown in the US where such bans have been implemented.
“Banning product categories, such as disposable vapes, outright may have intuitive appeal but ignores the fact that most users of disposable vapes in the UK are either past or current smokers.”
Strict rules on vapes ‘sends the wrong message’
He said taking harsh action against vapes worsens the message to the public that vapes are as (or even more) harmful than cigarettes.
“This is not true but is widely believed by the public, even among those who would benefit from switching, in particular smokers who have failed to stop with other means,” he said.
“In short, we have to make vaping boring again, but we must be mindful that we do not throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
