In a recent press release France Vapotage alert on the danger of a fight against a tool that is nevertheless essential in the face of the scourge of smoking: the electronic cigarette. Indeed, at a time when the fight against smoking is marking time, the choice must be clear for risk reduction.
FIGHT SMOKING OR VAPE!
The fight against smoking is stalling in France. Smoking prevalence, already one of the highest in the European Union, is increasing: 31,9% in 2022 against 30,4% in 2019, despite all the measures taken in recent years.
To quit smoking, you have to rely on what works: vaping has proven itself. The vapoteuse is the most effective tool and the most used by people who want to quit smoking, according to Santé Publique France, the review of scientific studies COCHRANE or even a French study published last December.
In the United Kingdom, the promotion of electronic cigarettes among adult smokers has also reduced smoking prevalence to 13,3% in 2022. The British Government is continuing on this path and has recently committed to distributing 1 million vaping kits.
However, in France, the fight against tobacco seems to have been abandoned in favor of a new scapegoat designated responsible for all ills:. vaping.
In this new crusade, all arguments are used, including the most fragile:
• A “bridge effect”? There is…but from tobacco to vaping. Millions of people have already quit smoking thanks to vaping. The reverse is not true.
• The risks ? As the product is intended for adult smokers, they must be considered in relation to those of tobacco, responsible in France for 75 deaths per year. The vapoteuse does not contain tobacco and according to the scientific studies on which Public Health England is based, its vapor contains 000% less harmful substances than the smoke of the tobacco cigarette.
• Nicotine? The former smoker often needs it. Why consider nicotine from pharmaceutical products as a support, and that from vapers (of the same origin and same quality) as a threat? The challenge around the development of vaping is not to ban this or that device from time to time. It is to establish a framework that makes it possible to meet the challenges in a sustainable and effective way:
• Promote vaping among smokers among the available solutions and preserve its advantages such as its price, which is much lower than that of tobacco, or the diversity of flavors.
• Enforce the law which already prohibits the sale of vaping products to minors.
• Strictly control all products offered for sale.
• Set up processes for a more sustainable sector.
But to meet these challenges, it is still necessary to listen to and involve all the players concerned. The 3 million consumers and the thousands of businesses and businesses in the sector have their say. France Vapotage has been formulating proposals for 5 years, which have so far remained a dead letter.
The next National Tobacco Control Program must allow us to finally address these issues rationally, to distinguish between the main problem (smoking) and the solutions (including vaping), and to set up a dedicated working group to succeed. quitting smoking.
CONTACT : presse@francevapotage.fr
