Vaping has changed how many smokers have given up the habit. Indeed, some have given up permanently with the aid of electronic cigarettes, after having failed in the past.
So, when the UK is told by the World Health Organisation to ban all vaping in all public spaces, it makes us sit up and take notice. Thousands of UK smokers have given up the habit thanks to vaping, and if we follow the WHO advice and ban vaping in public, we’re only going to make it more difficult for smokers to stop in the future. After all, if it’s just as difficult to vape as it is to smoke, there could be less incentive to stop in the first place.
Public Health England supports the use of vaping as a smoking cessation tool. Indeed, they have encouraged councils and other bodies and businesses to provide spaces for people to vape in, instead of having to use the same areas smokers do.
It seems the WHO has bought into the theory that teenagers could start smoking after trying vaping first. However, many studies have already considered this supposed link and found no evidence this takes place. Since vaping has helped many people quit smoking, and many others are switching every day, it seems counter-productive to demonise vaping. It may not be 100% safe, but it is generally accepted to be 95% less harmful than smoking, per the latest figures.
What’s your opinion on this statement from the World Health Organisation? Do they have the interests of vapers at heart? It doesn’t seem so. Would you be more likely to continue smoking if vaping was made difficult to do? Tell us your thoughts below and let us know how you reacted to this news.
