In Canada, if for years provincial governments, public health officials and anti-smoking groups have lobbied hard against e-cigarettes, arguing that they risk causing a disastrous return to smoking, the rhetoric may well change. .
THE E-CIGARETTE STRONGLY INVOLVED IN THE DROP OF TOBACCO?
Indeed, the latest statistics show a sharp drop in smoking in Canada and some experts no longer hesitate to assert that the most plausible explanation lies in the popularity of the e-cigarette despite the constant denigration of it. For them, it is also a " very good news " because " this avoids the burning of carcinogenic products found in tobacco smoke"
« I think the people who run the tobacco control will have a party, It's a fall much faster than expected ", Explain Mark Tyndall, Executive Director of the Center for Disease Control. " With the increasing use of electronic cigarettes and the decrease in smoking, it is quite logical that there has been substitution. »
According to David Sweanor, Ottawa lawyer and true veteran of tobacco control, who strongly supports the e-cigarette " This is a trend that, if real, is being driven by consumers and entrepreneurs.". He also wishes to recall that " It was not the governments that encouraged this… quite the contrary. Governments have done things to prevent it. "
THE EXPERTS DO NOT ALL HAVE THE SAME OPINION ON THE REASONS FOR THIS DROP IN SMOKING
Obviously, this explanation is not unanimous. Other experts argue that the decrease in the number of smokers is mainly due to tax increases. According to them, if e-cigarettes play a role, it is at best a minor role which also highlights a debate on devices that continues to divide the world of public health.
For e-cigarette supporters, the devices are much safer than conventional cigarettes. For their detractors, these could normalize bad habits and act as a gateway to smoking for young people.
According to Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, after a long downward trend, smoking prevalence erupted in the late 2000s, with the rate of smokers over 15 only slightly declining from 19% to 17% between 2005 and 2011. Recently published results show that this rate then dropped to 13% in the next four years by the time the e-cigarette emerged.
D. SWEANOR: " THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IS THE ADVENT OF THE E-CIGARETTE«
According to the federal survey, 3,8 million people smoked in 2015, it is still 400 people less than in 000, besides that we count 713 000 electronic cigarette users. Most of these vapers are actually vapers but around 107 were former smokers.
To David Sweanor it's quite clear " The only significant change that could have affected rates over the past four years is the advent of e-cigarettes. »
« In fact, the Canadian trend mirrors what is happening in the United States, Great Britain and other countries where e-cigarettes have taken off." , said Ken Warner, a professor of public health at the University of Michigan adding " There appears to have been a very large increase in quitting smoking, and it appears to be recent". According to him this fall in rates is " unprecedented"
RECENT DATA CAN NOT SAY IF THE E-CIGARETTE PLAYED A ROLE
But some of the key players in the anti-smoking movement in Canada are not convinced. according to Rob Cunningham, analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society, " The most recent data do not allow us to say whether e-cigarettes may have played a leading role ”. According to him, “Not only do most current smokers still smoke, but the tax hikes have had a big impact."
« In fact, in the age group where electronic cigarettes are used the most, smoking has remained at the level of the past two years, it has not dropped. Says Cunningham. " It is concerning that progress among 20-24 year olds seems to have stagnated"
Cynthia Callard, Director General of Doctors for Smoke-free Canada, declares that relatively few vapers in the survey announce the e-cigarette as having had an impact in their cessation of smoking. She also announces that " If the vape made a difference, this is not reflected in this survey."
« Just asking the question about e-cigarettes means that these results offer only limited insight into the role these devices play. " said Pippa Beck, Senior Policy Analyst with the Non-Smokers Rights Association.
A recent US study found that e-cigarettes did better than approved drug therapies in helping people quit smoking.
