According to a report by the British media Daily Mail on December 17, experts warned that scare stories and misleading information about the dangers of e-cigarettes may trigger an increase in smoking among young people.
Last week, a report revealed that a decades-long decline in the number of smokers in England has stalled since the coronavirus pandemic. Researchers believe this is likely because more young people are starting to smoke.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, told reporters she believed misleading information about the dangers of e-cigarettes was partly to blame. She said:
"The negative press about e-cigarettes doesn't help, as does the impression that e-cigarettes and tobacco are equally harmful, which is not the case."
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said in October that if Labor formed a government, it would ban commercial sales of e-cigarettes and make the products available by prescription only. The reason he cited was to prevent "a generation of kids" from becoming addicted to nicotine. The plan is similar to that in Australia, where e-cigarettes are only available by prescription.
Research shows that one in five children in the UK will have tried e-cigarettes by 2023, a 30% increase from last year. But experts say demonizing e-cigarettes could increase the number of smokers, not decrease them. "In Australia, where you need a prescription to buy e-cigarettes, they're seeing an increase in smoking rates because it's easier to get cigarettes," Ms Arnott said.
Dr Sarah Jackson, a behavioral science expert at University College London and lead author of the latest UK tobacco report, also said "inaccurate" media headlines about the risks of e-cigarettes may be the reason more young people are starting to smoke. a reason.
"People now think e-cigarettes are more harmful than smoking, which is wrong," she said.
Last year, a report from King's College London found that e-cigarettes pose "a fraction of the health risks of smoking" in the short to medium term.
Dr Jackson said: "There are some toxic chemicals in e-cigarettes that have been linked to long-term health problems, but the levels are significantly lower than in cigarettes." She added: "We don't want people to start using e-cigarettes unnecessarily, but if we can make smoking By switching to e-cigarettes, the health of thousands of people could be improved."
