E-cigarette laws risk repeating cannabis mistakes

Vaping is often compared to conventional cigarettes, though perhaps a more fitting comparison is cannabis.

This writer is not a health expert and this article shouldn’t be taken as a source of complex medical data. However, since the desire to restrict the sale of vapes has medical premonitions, it is worth providing some general figures.

A review published by Public Health England found that “the current best estimate is that e-cigarettes are around 95% less harmful than smoking”. This does not state that vaping is harmless, but that the danger is comparatively insignificant. Of course, far from all who take up e-cigarettes — or vapes — are individuals who previously smoked tobacco. As with many recreational drugs, there is a considerable youth contingent. The review concludes that “there is no evidence so far that e-cigarettes are acting as a route into smoking for children or non-smokers”.

Intriguingly, the expert review also “provides reassurance that very few adults and young people who have never smoked are becoming regular e-cigarette users (less than 1% in each group).” This is much different to saying that less than one percent of young individuals have used e-cigarettes at all.

There are times when an abundance of caution can do more harm than good. “Emerging evidence suggests some of the highest successful quit rates are now seen among smokers who use an e-cigarette and also receive additional support from their local stop smoking services”, according to the Public Health England press release.

This contrasts with research released in America. A report posted on the CDC website contends that “Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive, can harm the developing adolescent brain, and can increase risk for future addiction to other drugs”. The Food & Drug Administration seems to share in this view. In January 2020, it announced a policy under which “companies that do not cease manufacture, distribution and sale of unauthorized flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes (other than tobacco or menthol) within 30 days risk FDA enforcement actions.”

America is not alone in cracking down on vapes. On 1 October 2021, the Australian government implemented a policy under which nicotine vaping products (NVPs) cannot be imported without a prescription. According to the New Daily, “some experts are concerned the new laws will put users at a higher risk of harm, by forcing them into the black market to buy a product that could save their lives.” The paper reports that “many users have been buying NVPs from overseas vendors or under the counter from Australian tobacconists.”

A Sydney e-cigarette shop owner interviewed by the Daily Mail agrees with this assessment, telling the paper that government efforts are bound to backfire.

‘There has always been a black market, and the more the government tries to quash it with legislation, the more the black market will thrive,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.

This policy direction deserves scrutiny. There are indeed some risks to e-cigarettes, though these have at times been greatly exaggerated. Overzealous restrictions on vapes risk impeding those trying to quit cigarettes and incentivise recreational users to seek them through illegal avenues, where the risks are greater. So long as demand exists — and there is plenty of it — vapes will be supplied.