More obfuscation in recent media, regarding risks of vaping, with some who profess to be concerned about New Zealand health essentially stating that vapers should be lied to about vape risks, on the grounds that they will otherwise be scared and take up tobacco.
The words 'lied to' are not used but that is clearly what is meant. Risks of long term serious effects from regular vaping were erroneously questioned and were considered to be unnecessarily worrying vapers.
This is of course disturbing, and reflects both ignorance of professional advice and corrupt practice as explained below.
There is a current need for loud clear statement to NZ that vaping seriously damages lungs. Vapers have a right to know what the clinical advice states about the behaviour. That vaping is a serious risk to lung health is criminally not stated anywhere on the vape packaging, nor is it clearly stated on the government health website. Our school age children are vaping at epidemic rates but neither they nor their parents are told of the risks other than that of nicotine addiction.
See below, that the best clinics globally recommend other much safer methods for quitting tobacco, and clearly advise against vaping due to its considerable toxicity.
The risks of vaping are indeed scary, and fear is what a normal response to known serious risks should be, but there is obviously no justification to withhold information from vapers about what they are consuming because of the scare factor. As stated, it is their right to know. The disturbing nature of the risks is the very reason they should know.
Vapers should be told what the top clinicians say and have said for years, that vapes are a serious risk to health.
Is the NZ public told that? No. The government message is that vapes are much safer than tobacco, vaping is strongly advised as the optimum method of quitting tobacco, and you should only stop vaping if you are sure you won't go back to smoking tobacco. Any risks of vaping other than that of nicotine addiction are heavily understated and are not required on packaging. Alternative, safer means of quitting tobacco are not promoted.
Of course the reality of COPD (chronic obstructive airway disease), carcinogenic and other known serious risks of vaping from the professional clinicians and highly respected research groups mean there is a worrying lack of concern for health or respect for the public in this government messaging.
As said earlier, the best clinicians in the world, such as at the Mayo and Cleveland Clinics, do not advise for those quitting tobacco to use vaping as a tool. They provide a wealth of safer methods. A decent NZ government would emulate this.
One of the Cleveland Clinic sites starts with “Hands down, vaping is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes. Period.”
So, again, is it right to lie about vape risks and pretend they are essentially safe because vapers may otherwise turn to cigarettes? No!! but this is what would keep people buying vapes, and sadly cater to profits of 'big tobacco' who manufacture vapes, and their lobbyists, and those in government who appear to be unconcerned about the rights and health of New Zealanders.
Our government simply lies about vape risks.
We need a government which states vaping is extremely hazardous and that it causes COPD and is carcinogenic etc.
We need a government which cares if people develop life-destroying lung conditions because
1. they were misled about the risks and 2. did not get proper support to quit.
The Coalition and the previous, Labour, government have both decided vapers need only be told about nicotine, nothing else.
Ever since vapes were first marketed the major clinicians globally have clearly stated that hazardous chemicals, in addition to nicotine, are in all vapes at concentrations known to cause harm, including cancer. Data about emerging specific diseases and pathological changes from vaping these chemicals has been widely published.
All vape liquids need substances such as propylene glycol to turn them into an aerosol (as in a smoke machine), but these substances are all causes of inflammatory conditions in the airways. The aerosol is needed to deliver nicotine through the millions of tiny airways and into the blood and then to the brain. Plus, the liquid must also be heated for this inhalable aerosol to form. The heating required transforms these chemicals in the vape 'juice' into carcinogenic aldehydes. All these chemicals are in harmful concentrations in the gas drawn into the body with each vape inhalation. Most vape aerosols also contain other highly toxic chemicals.
Is any of the risk other than addiction to nicotine indicated at all on the packet which NZers buy? No.
Surely not stating known serious risk would be illegal with such a product and licenced for sale. Yes, but this is what is allowed in NZ.
The UK, Canada and NZ all understate vape risk in their online government health sites, all 3 countries have readily available vapes for purchase against WHO strong advice, and all have youth vaping epidemics.
Australia and the US have more responsible material, with their online clear simple information similar to that provided by respected clinics like the Mayo or Cleveland Clnics.
Vapes may or may not end up being as harmful as tobacco, but they are definitely not safe! They are extremely hazardous, just with different risk factors. It is like comparing different highly toxic poisons.
People who vape and have never smoked have already been shown to have greater risk of COPD and other respiratory diseases, with mutations in epithelial tissue, but cancer stats are likely to take longer to show up.
Note: the American Cancer Society has always stated vaping is too dangerous even as a tool to quit tobacco, the primary cause of lung cancer.
The NZ government is criminally failing in its duty of care both in this lack of clear statement of risk and in negligible support for overcoming the nicotine 'hook' of addiction.
NZ needs to unhook from inhalable nicotine whether from tobacco or vaping.
The Mayo and Cleveland clinics online material provides immensely helpful advice about safer ways of quitting tobacco and about quitting nicotine itself, and how everyone can unhook from nicotine.
The tobacco/vape manufacturers, distributers, and the government make considerable funds from the community vaping and smoking, Current NZ MPs have had close engagement with the industry and lobbyists have been successful in getting NZ to act as it does, under the guise of saving NZ from tobacco. There was however, during the huge marketing campaign making vapes sexy and cool, never a case for failing to state health risks or failing to have back up robust support for getting unhooked from vapes or from nicotine . Support was merely for going from tobacco to vaping, and thereby to another highly addictive big tobacco product. This is still the situation.
Some of the vaping stats in New Zealand:
20% of year 12 and 26% of year 13 students report vaping in the past 7 days - Asthma and Respiratory Foundation for 2022-23
Daily vapers - 25% 18-24 year olds, and 28.8% of Maori – and overall vaping rates are increasing. - Government Health Department survey of 2023-24 vaping in New Zealand.
We can all help reduce the current massive time bomb in NZ for lung damage, by talking about this, using social media and lobbying MPs to stop this criminal lack of clear statement of risk of vaping.
There must be a campaign to unhook NZ from these big tobacco products.
That school children are hooked and have no idea of what health risk they now have other than that of addiction is a sign of an immoral and failed government.
We need a government which puts public health above big tobacco lobbyists, and which urgently addresses the terrible cocktail of easy access to vapes, lack of information regarding risk, and lack of provision of alternative methods of quitting tobacco, including lack of decent programmes for unhooking from nicotine, one of the most addictive substances known.
Vapes can still be available if wanted in spite of the risks, but must be better regulated, health risks clearly stated, other options for quitting tobacco strongly advised and provided, with proper nicotine quitting programmes provided throughout the country.
Note, for interest:
Health insurance companies treat tobacco smoking and vaping the same in terms of risk to health.
The CDC (US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) do not recommend vaping for quitting tobacco. Check online. Their advice regarding risks and quitting is very similar to that of the Mayo and Cleveland Clinics.