Vaping must be recognized as an effective tool for reducing the risks of smoking, according to addiction professionals.
RECOGNIZING VAPOTAGE AS A RISK REDUCTION INSTRUMENT
Steam is better than smoke, believes the federation of addiction professionals. She therefore asks to reorient the tobacco policy in Switzerland. The federation is taking advantage of the consultation which will open shortly on the law on tobacco products to set out its demands.
Until now, prevention policy has been oriented towards abstinence. On Tuesday, representatives of addiction professionals asked to supplement it with a risk reduction pillar.
The legal framework must be adapted according to the dangerousness for tobacco products and its derivatives, such as e-cigarettes or snus. Vaping must be recognized as a risk reduction tool, says the federation. Nicotine liquids must be authorized for sale.
Smokers should be encouraged to switch from smoking to vaping, say professionals. Consumption patterns where tobacco is not burned are less harmful and could help reduce the number of deaths. Each year 9500 people die from their tobacco consumption.
The e-cigarette is 95% less dangerous than the cigarette according to specialists. Vaping does not emit substances harmful to health released during the combustion of tobacco or cannabinoids. And consumers have access to the nicotine they need. Nicotine addiction is not the cause of death, but tar, professionals remind us. The alternatives, vaping, snus or even nicotine gums, protect the health of the smoker and that of those around him.
MORE AND MORE CONSUMERS IN SWITZERLAND
The number of alternative consumers is increasing in Switzerland. About 15% of the population would have already vaped once in their life, according to the Swiss monitoring of addictions of 2016, especially in those under 35 years.
But vaping remains in the shadows. According to the federation, there is a lack of clear regulations. The positive effects of this form of consumption therefore remain marginal. Professionals demand a coherent policy, regulation, taxation and preventive action that reflects the differences in risks for consumers.
They also want the Confederation to launch independent research projects on the effects of vaping and snus. The population must be informed in a transparent way and be aware of the undesirable effects of these modes of consumption. (Ps / nxp)
Source : Tdg.ch
