For Suzanne Gabriels, tobacco prevention manager at the Fondation contre le Cancer in Belgium, vaping is neither all white nor all black ...
Electronic cigarettes containing nicotine now have a legal status in our country. It was Maggie De Block (Open Vld), Minister of Public Health, who gave the green light to this development. This decision at least has the advantage of clarifying the situation. But if it was necessary to have regulations, the minister nevertheless missed opportunities.
Valid arguments on both sides
With the electronic cigarette, nothing is indeed all black or all white. New studies appear every week about it. A real war is raging between "against" and "for". The first are to be found among the ringers of alarm, which come mainly from the world of public health. The latter are more on the side of tobacco specialists and other accompanying people at smoking cessation (and smokers themselves) who, as part of a risk reduction policy, call for the rapid arrival of an alternative more "safe" to the cigarette.
Both camps have solid arguments. Proponents of the e-cig present it as a good solution to stop smoking, and stress that the risks associated with its use are lower compared to tobacco consumption. Vaping allows a supply of nicotine while avoiding coming into contact with the harmful substances released during the combustion of a cigarette.
Opponents draw attention to the risk of non-smokers getting into e-cigarettes. It would therefore be an easy access to tobacco. From a public health point of view - and according to several scientific authors - it is better to take steps to limit young people's access to e-cigarettes. In addition, young non-smokers are one of the main targets of the tobacco industry, which is increasingly eyeing e-cigarettes in their efforts to restore a 'trendy' image to smoking. For this, they push especially small players in the e-cigs market, to establish their own monopoly on prices and marketing strategies. In addition, according to the latest figures for the United Kingdom, it appears that 68,2% of vapers also smoke conventional cigarettes ("dual use"). At the same time, the number of stopping attempts in this country is at its lowest since 2007. The electronic cigarette could therefore be a brake on the total stopping of the cigarette.
Only time will tell ...
In the end, it is still too early to get a clear idea of the cost-benefit ratio for society of this new type of consumption. The Foundation against Cancer proposes to consider both pleas (for and against). We must grasp the e-cigarette thrust as an opportunity to really tackle the total ban on advertising, both for conventional cigarettes and for their electronic version; and limit sales to specialty stores, especially for e-cigarettes.
The measures taken by Minister De Block allow our country to comply with the European directives on tobacco products, which will apply from May. But they do not go further, if we believe the statements in the press. The recommendation of the High Council of Health to restrict the sale of electronic cigarettes to specialized stores is not followed ... Just as with the neutral packets, the authorities are allowing great opportunities in the fight against tobacco.
Source : Cancer.be
