Vaping helps tobacco smokers quit, so don't over-regulate industry
This is make it or break it time for New Year’s resolutions. A large percentage of us have resolved to focus on our health: eat better, work out more. For some of the one million-plus adults in Tennessee who smoke cigarettes, that means taking a very big step towards finally quit smoking. An estimated seven out of ten smokers want to quit, but it is a hard resolution to keep.
Considering how hard it is to quit— and how many people try and fail— it makes sense to ensure people have all the information about options that can help them finally leave behind these deadly tobacco products. The good news is, there is an exciting trend in research showing adult smokers are finding help and better health by switching to vaping products, otherwise known as e-cigarettes.
Tennessee Department of Health researchers presented a study at the 2017 American Public Health Association meeting, which revealed adult e-cigarette users in Tennessee were 3.7 times more likely to report trying to quit smoking than non-e-cigarette users. The analysis provides some state-specific evidence that Tennessee smokers are turning to vaping to reduce their tobacco use.
This reflects what we have been hearing for years. From our network of 86 vape shops— retail stores that specialize in selling vaping products— we regularly receive stories about longtime, heavy smokers who achieved lasting behavior change and success in quitting cigarettes altogether, thanks to vaping. While vaping has only been around for a decade, this positive message has quickly spurred a grassroots movement of people who are passionate about helping others switch to a less harmful product.
Another report just released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (a panel of public health experts) concluded vaping is safer than traditional smoking products and also may help cigarette smokers quit. Last year, the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center found smokers are not only trying to quit with e-cigarettes, but they are successfully doing it. The Center now supports the use of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation method when used consistently.
All of this should be good news to those who are concerned about Tennessee’s 1.1 million smokers and want another tool to help fight smoking as the leading preventable cause of death.
It is encouraging then, that Rep. Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, spoke out in the Knoxville News Sentinel and urged “public health authorities to take a closer look at the information it is providing to addicted smokers and at the policies that it is recommending in relation to e-cigarettes.” We join Rep. Sexton in urging the Department of Health to consider the latest research findings before prematurely scaring adult smokers away from vaping.
State legislators have thankfully thus far rejected attempts to over-regulate the vaping industry while still working to ensure minors are prevented from purchasing. It is already illegal to sell vaping products to someone under 18— just like tobacco products. We continue to believe the best way to stop underage smoking and vaping is at the point of sale, and none of our shops have been cited for selling to minors.
As long as there are adult smokers, there will be individuals who have tried to quit smoking and failed. Let’s make sure they know about all their options and have access to products which are proven to be better alternatives to cigarette smoking. Our community of independent vape businesses can help smokers make 2018 the year they keep this resolution.
Dimitris Agrafiotis is executive director of the Tennessee Smoke Free Association, a consumer advocacy and trade organization focused on tobacco harm reduction through the use of vapor products.
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