In response to the growing number of e-cigarettes, the UK and elsewhere have been discussing making them available on prescription only. In the UK, Wes Streeting, the shadow minister for health and social care, recently announced that the incoming Labor government would consider imposing such restrictions to reduce youth vaping.
There is now clear evidence that e-cigarettes are popular among smokers and that they can help smokers quit smoking. In addition to this positive evidence, there are negative consequences as more and more young people use these electronic devices, regardless of whether they smoke or not.
While making e-cigarettes available on prescription appears to be an effective way to reduce teen use of these devices, the reality may prove to be very different. The fact that young people, including some below the legal purchasing age, are vaping highlights the reality that there are more ways to obtain e-cigarettes than there are legal sales.
It's entirely possible that even when e-cigarettes are available only by prescription, some young people will still purchase these devices illegally. Regardless of the impact on youth vaping, making e-cigarettes available by prescription only will reduce adult smokers’ exposure to these devices. If such a policy were implemented, some adults would surely go to their doctors to seek prescriptions for these devices. Others, however, are less willing to see a doctor. Some of these people may purchase e-cigarettes through illegal channels, while others may continue to smoke.
There is a further reason why buying e-cigarettes with just a prescription may have negative consequences. Research shows that using e-cigarettes can increase the likelihood of quitting, even if an individual has no previous intention to quit smoking. Professor Karin Kasza from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and colleagues analyzed data from the widely respected Population Assessment Study on Tobacco and Health in the United States and found that an alarming number of adult smokers with no previous interest in quitting continued to use e-cigarettes. Quit smoking. This "accidental smoking cessation" has also been found in other studies by Professor Riccardo Polosa and colleagues in Catania, which have shown that simply offering e-cigarettes to smokers can help many people quit smoking, even if they had not previously indicated that they would quit smoking. interest of.
When it comes to regulating e-cigarettes, the question is how to balance the needs of young people who shouldn't be using these devices with the needs of adult smokers who might benefit from them, as is often the case. While making e-cigarettes available on prescription only may reduce use of these devices by some young people, unfortunately it may have the same, if not greater, impact on adult smokers.
The public health goal of reducing smoking is too important to implement a policy that, while reducing youth e-cigarette use, actually reduces adult smokers' exposure to e-cigarettes, which may not be as effective as hoped. . One of the challenges for manufacturers, regulators and health educators is to find a way to reduce youth exposure to these devices while ensuring that any adult smoker who wishes to use e-cigarettes can do so with minimal difficulty. Requiring adult smokers to make an appointment with a doctor before legally using e-cigarette devices creates significant barriers to wider use of e-cigarettes by smokers and wider intentional and accidental quitting by adult smokers. This is a restrictive provision that requires careful consideration before implementation.
