It’s easy to see why governments have sometimes been reluctant to promote vaping. The reality is that failing to do so could cost lives.
Vaping has been rising in popularity for over a decade now. It is only recently that world leaders have started to acknowledge it as the very least, a lesser of two evils. With strains on the economy and specifically the NHS in England, it seems that people are turning to vaping as a smoking cessation tool that could lead to the improvement of health and a move away from having to spend precious time and money on preventable diseases. So, what has been the change in perception, and where do world leaders still need to put pressure for vaping to be even more widely accepted?
Vaping and health
One of the main misconceptions about vaping that people have is that it is just as bad for you as cigarettes are. With news outlets such as the GUardian already warning against a tirade of misinformation about vaping, it is clear to see how research released too soon before evaluation can be assessed as detrimental to vaping. For instance, a recent study showed that vape e liquid,when inhaled contained traces of formaldehyde and other toxins. What wasn’t brought to light at first was that there were only large amounts of formaldehyde present if you burnt the e liquid to unrealistic temperatures. This is just like saying that chicken, when burnt to a crisp, is carcinogenic. Whilst normal chicken isn’t, it’s obvious that burning it will somewhat up the levels of toxicity within the charred meat.
The nicotine debate
Another problem which ties in with the health misinformation, is the use of nicotine within vape e liquid. The problem, people often argue, is that e liquids containing of nicotine could end up acting as a gateway to tobacco. There is very little fact to this assumption, and if anything, the contrary is the case. There are also other concerns about the health problems associated with nicotine, the fact that in high dosages it is an irritant and poison being an example. Nicotine is only poisonous in incredibly high dosages, and whilst e juice can be toxic to drink, there are stringent measures to stop the vape e liquid from falling into the wrong hands, for instance, children or animals that may try to drink it.
In the wider world
It is true that many parts of the world are still reluctant about promoting vaping. Sometimes this is due to their not having quite caught up with the research which has gone into vaping, whilst at other times you can see clearly that they have ties with anti-vaping lobbyists. Other countries oppose vaping due to religious law. With nicotine being an addictive substance, some countries have banned or prohibited its use due to their banning of anything deemed addictive. This includes alcohol and drugs, whilst in reality many of these countries hypocritically allow people to still smoke tobacco.