It鈥檚 an unprecedented turnaround. E-cigarettes, once painted as a new and sinister health risk, are now being promoted as a public health lifeline 鈥� in the UK, at least. Yet if we want to make the most of their potential, healthcare staff need to put aside their preconceptions and embrace them more enthusiastically.
The rationale for vaping is clear. Regular tobacco smoking is one of the biggest lifestyle contributors to death and disease worldwide, causing heart disease, strokes and a long list of cancers. While the flavourings in e-cigarettes could in theory harm the lungs, vaping has been calculated to carry at most .
It鈥檚 hard to quit smoking, with about 90 per cent of attempts ending in failure, but vaping makes it easier. By one estimate, the failure rate instead.
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For once, the UK has one of the most enlightened and progressive stances to a social ill. In many countries, the official stance is that the risks of vaping are unknown and it should be discouraged. In countries such as Australia, it is even criminalised.
Inhaling advice
Public Health England, on the other hand, has long been in favour of vaping, and this week called on companies and even hospitals to , like old-style smoking rooms.
But there is another change that needs to happen if we want more people to switch. Vaping is not as intuitively easy to take up as smoking. There are several kinds of products available. The most basic version, sometimes called cigalikes, don鈥檛 give a quick-enough nicotine hit to satisfy most smokers and people who start with these often relapse, says of the University of East Anglia, UK.
More complex e-cigarettes require purchasing several items of kit, such as the device, nicotine liquid and charger, and some people need advice to start off. New users may also benefit from advice on dosing and even how to inhale.
At the moment, those giving such help are generally the staff of the specialist vape shops springing up everywhere. A few enlightened doctors work with these outlets, visiting to provide health education materials and actively encouraging their patients to visit, Notley鈥檚 team .
Shady reputation
This is not common practice, though, partly because of e-cigarettes鈥� shady reputation. And not everyone is keen to get health advice from vaping shops, which often look like bars or mobile phone stores.
In theory, pharmacies would be ideally placed to step in but again, anti-vaping sentiment has made them reluctant. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the body that represents pharmacists, told its members , although many shops flout this, and that stance is now under review.
Notley has called for more health professionals to work collaboratively with vaping shop staff, who are often former smokers themselves and can be highly knowledgeable about their wares. 鈥淢ost pharmacists could certainly learn from vape shops,鈥� she says.
It鈥檚 not the most conventional way to combat a public health problem. But when you see a lifeline it makes sense to grab it with both hands.
