In the UK, vape hardware has become an increasingly vital weapon in the battle to eliminate smoking, and vaping has received a groundswell of support from the health profession.
The NHS reported a review in 2021 that suggested that e-cigarettes, including starter kits, disposables and box mods, in conjunction with face-to-face support, helped people succeed at stopping smoking.
With smoking rates lowering dramatically, and the rise in popularity of disposable vaping options, it is worth asking if the availability of affordable vaping products is in part helping people to stop smoking.
Conversely, it is also worth asking if making vapes prescription only, as is the case in Australia and has recently been proposed in New Zealand could potentially be counterproductive.
The Digital Camera Of Smoking
In 2003, a Shenyan-born 47-year-old pharmacist patented an invention he made to help himself stop smoking, a habit he had been addicted to since he was 18.
Dr Hon Lik’s logic, as he would later state in interviews is that he wanted his invention, known as the Ruyan, to replace smoking in the same way the digital camera took over from the analogue film, as an easier-to-use, more effective and safer way to inhale nicotine than cigarettes.
He did hope that in two or three decades his dream would become reality, and it is remarkably on track to do so, at least on a wider level. Sadly for Dr Lik himself, he never managed to kick the habit himself, but millions have done so because of his invention.
The reason why the digital camera works is that you do not need to have a dark room or deal with potentially toxic chemicals to get access to the pictures you take. You can just point and shoot, with more scope for improving and shaping your photography.
The same principle is true with vaping. Whilst nicotine’s addictive qualities should never be understated, the biggest direct health issue comes from the tar, smoke and many carcinogenic chemicals found in cigarettes, cigars and tobacco.
A Public Health England report noted that e-cigarettes were 95 per cent less harmful, which has made replacing analogue cigarettes with digital vapes has become a part of public health strategies to make the UK smoke-free by 2030.
The question has become about the best way to get that across.
Spreading The Message
Vape products have become one of the fastest-growing product markets in the UK, and this is beneficial to efforts to stop smoking in a few ways.
The first is self-evident; with vapes available at retail, smokers who want to quit do not have to make a specific trip to a pharmacy or consult with a doctor to start the process of quitting. They can put a disposable vape or a starter kit into their shopping basket and see if it works for them.
The beneficial side-effect of this is that a huge number of shops become part of the pipeline for smokers to transition to safer products, something that could potentially be lost if countries begin to require prescriptions or if they are only sold in pharmacies.
