THE NSW HEALTH MINISTER IS MISLEADING THE PUBLIC ON THE HEALTH RISKS OF VAPING
Media release: The NSW Health Minister is misleading the public on the health risks of vaping
‘Follow the science’ goes out the window as Brad Hazzard ignores the global evidence that vaping is much less dangerous than cigarettes
March 16, 2022
For immediate release
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard’s arguments on the health risks of vaping are deeply concerning and out of touch with the mainstream views of almost every country in the OECD, Legalise Vaping Australia (LVA) said today.
As is the case with thousands of other consumer products, vaping is not risk-free but it is widely accepted by medical researchers around the world to pose only a tiny fraction of the health risks of cigarettes. For example, Public Health England, which encourages people to switch from smoking to vaping, says 95% safer than smoking following a review of the global research as far back as 2018.
In a media conference yesterday Mr Hazzard said: “There are some people who think it’s a great idea to be able to vape instead of use a cigarette. Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.”
LVA campaign director Brian Marlow said: “This is the minister who has spent two years appealing to the authority of health advice to shut down businesses and keep people confined to their homes.
“Now he appears to be ignoring years of peer-reviewed medical research that shows the reduced risk of vaping relative to cigarettes.
“The minister is entitled to his own opinion on vaping but he is not entitled to his own science. Thousands of people die from smoking related diseases in NSW every year but none are dying from vaping.
“As the minister responsible for looking after the health of the people of NSW, one of the simplest and most cost-effective measures he could take would be to allow the legal sales of nicotine vaping products to current adult smokers to help them quit, as is the policy of the British and New Zealand governments. People who switch from smoking to vaping will be healthier and less of a burden on the health system in years to come,” Marlow said.
A Public Health England study was commissioned in 2018 from researchers at Cancer Research UK, the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol, the University of Stirling and Kings College London. Among the key findings in the report, which was based on a review of worldwide studies:
Cancer potencies of e-cigarettes were 0.5% the risk of smoking
Comparative risks of cardiovascular and lung disease are likely to be substantially lower than smoking
There have been no identified health risks of passive vaping to bystanders
Adult smokers are poorly informed about relative risks of different products
New Zealand also encourages people to switch from smoking to vaping. Just last year, the New Zealand Health Survey found that 100,000 Kiwis quit smoking – an astonishing achievement.
“The answer is simple: regulated nicotine vaping products should be available to buy in retail settings. This will allow consumers to make better choices,” Marlow said.
“If people want to be healthy, it is better not to vape or smoke. But if vaping is vastly preferable to smoking and studies increasingly show that vaping is a powerful tool in helping adult smokers to quit.
“The current black market that allows minors to access dodgy products has been encouraged by outrageous and poorly informed regulations that have driven vaping underground.
“It is time that elected officials, the health bureaucracy, and the media in Australia started telling the full story on this issue and admit our regulatory approach is wrong. The evidence is there for anyone who can be bothered to look it up.”
Brian Marlow is available for interviews: 0439 138 826
The 2018 Public Health England study is available at this link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/684963/Evidence_review_of_e-cigarettes_and_heated_tobacco_products_2018.pdf