Tobacco researchers Nicola Lindson and Jamie Hartmann-Boyce said the evidence shows vaping is considerably less harmful than smoking, warning that misleading claims could discourage smokers from switching.
What Martin said
Martin made the comments at the Fianna Fáil think-in in Tullamore, Co Offaly, on 8 September, where he described vapes as the “revenge of Big Tobacco” and called for stronger government action.
“Vapes are nearly worse than cigarettes,” he said. “In many instances, we don’t know what’s in them. They’re damaging to lungs and these are serious issues for society.”
The Journal reported that it had asked both the Department of An Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil for the evidence behind his remarks, but neither had replied by publication.
Why burning tobacco makes a difference
Dr Nicola Lindson, an associate professor at the University of Oxford who researches tobacco addiction and quitting smoking, told The Journal that the “breadth of the evidence gives confidence” that vaping is less harmful than smoking.
“We know that one of the reasons smoking is so harmful is the combustion process inherent in smoking tobacco which generates many of the harmful chemicals,” she said. “There is no combustion involved in vaping.”
There is no combustion involved in vaping.
That distinction is reflected in a 2022 evidence review commissioned by England’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.
The review found substantially lower exposure to harmful substances among people who vaped than those who smoked, including substances associated with cancer, respiratory disease and cardiovascular conditions.
It concluded that vaping posed a small fraction of smoking’s risks in the short and medium term, while stressing the need for longer-term research.
The Royal College of Physicians’ 2024 review also supported the role of vapes in reducing the harm caused by tobacco. It called for measures to discourage use among children and non-smokers while preserving their use as a quitting aid for adults.
Why the message is important
Ireland’s own Health Service Executive acknowledges in its current guidance that vaping delivers nicotine with fewer toxins than cigarettes and may be less harmful.
It doesn’t recommend vaping as a quitting method, favouring licensed medicines and professional support, and says the long-term risks remain under investigation.
Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts, told The Journal that differences between devices and flavours make it difficult to put a single percentage on vaping’s relative risk.
She nevertheless said current evidence showed regulated nicotine vapes were considerably less harmful than cigarettes. Misunderstanding that difference could deter smokers from switching and reducing their exposure to harm.
“It’s really important to remember that, as a consumer product, cigarettes are uniquely deadly,” she said.