Clear the clouds of confusion on vaping
I come from a family of smokers but some of us have switched to vaping, foregoing cigarettes entirely.
Several studies, including from Public Health England last month, conclude that e-cigarettes are 95-per-cent safer than tobacco cigarettes, whose smoke contains harmful by-products that cause serious disease.
The European Union already has regulations on e-cigarettes under their tobacco directive. No such regulations exist in Southeast Asia, where it is hard to find spare parts for e-cigarettes.
The potential exists for vaping entrepreneurs to create an industry that would not only reduce harm, but also cut air pollution, with a win-win situation for everyone. But with the failure of Southeast Asia’s Health Ministry’s to introduce regulations, entrepreneurs in the fledgling industry have gone bust. Now that there is solid scientific backing for the comparative health benefits of vaping, why are authorities still walking on eggshells regarding this issue?
My guess is they are waiting for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to come up with a final say next month.
A recent WHO report admitted the potential benefits of e-cigarettes, vapes and other heat-not-burn products, and recommended that countries should consider regulation instead of a total ban.
By 2025, the world will have an estimated 1 billion smokers, most of them in Asia. Perhaps it’s time that the WHO took a concrete stance on vaping and started promoting these alternatives.
Hafidz Baharom
(From The Star/Asia News Network)
