Matchless E-cigarette blog

The British Psychological Society has joined the growing number of British organisations that have decided to support the use of electronic cigarettes. A new report from the BPS, called Changing Behaviour: Electronic Cigarettes, points out 96,000 people in the UK die every year from a smoking-related illness. They also highlight the drop in smokers that has been achieved. However, “success rates… remain very low.”

Authors Hayden McRobbie and Lynne Dawkins are both keen to highlight the “potential” of electronic cigarettes to help people quit – and to do so successfully. We’ve seen other statistics that bear out the fact that vaping is most likely to result in successfully quitting smoking, and is far more successful a method than any other nicotine replacement therapies that could be used.

They also highlight the Stop Smoking Services provided by the NHS at present, and suggest that electronic cigarettes should be incorporated into this. In doing so, a greater success rate could be attained. They go as far as to say e-cigs could be provided as a part of the service, along with support in using them.

The report also goes into the need for investment in further research on the topic, not to mention the idea that smoking should become more expensive, and vaping should be cheaper. That is an interesting and valid idea we haven’t heard elsewhere, so it makes refreshing reading.

Since the report comes from the British Psychological Society, we would expect it to cover this aspect of vaping too. They say the easier something is, the easier it is to make a positive habit change. Therefore, the easier it is to vape without running into problems, the more likely it is the person will quit smoking for good. And that is great news, don’t you think?

How much do we know about the potential effects vaping could have on someone over the course of several years? Until now, not much. It’s hard to conduct an accurate and reliable study on this, because just 0.01% of vapers have never smoked. Most vapers are either trying to quit, or have already done so and have switched to vaping because it is believed by most to be safer. If ex-smokers who had switched to vaping had taken part, it would not be known whether any lung damage seen was caused by smoking (highly probable) or vaping.

But there is a study that has taken place over three and a half years, and while it only involved nine participants (nine, at least, who completed the study), it gives us our first picture of what vaping might do to the lungs over a longer period. Additionally, a group of people who had never smoked or vaped before were used as a control.

The study was conducted by Professor Riccardo Polosa – a notable expert in his field, focusing on tobacco harm reduction. He is also the director of the Institute of Internal Medicine and Antismoking Center, a key establishment at the University of Catania. The abstract from the study revealed there were “no significant changes” in the three and a half years it was run for. This applied both to the vapers compared with the control group and the vapers conditions from the beginning of the study compared to the end.

The researchers pointed out they could not completely rule out the possibility of potential damage occurring over a longer period. However, over the period of the study, no evidence was gleaned to suggest there was any chance of negative effects relating to vaping.

This is great news, and will hopefully go some way to proving vaping is much safer than smoking. While many countries want to stop people from smoking, they also seem to have it in for vapers. This study proves it is far safer to vape than to smoke, but we suspect it may well take more studies of this nature to change the approach taken by some lawmakers.

What are your views on this study? Do you think vapers are sometimes unfairly demonised for their habit, especially when they are trying to quit smoking? Let us know your thoughts.

Anyone who wants to vape in Taiwan had better find something else to do. That’s because the Taiwanese government has suggested an amendment to the current legislation in force in the province. There is already a ban on using e-cigarettes, but the new amendments could see a complete ban on manufacturing, selling, and promoting all vaping products. Oh, and you can add a ban on importing them, too.

Reports state the government is adhering to advice provided by the World Health Organisation. A government spokesperson said that between 60,000 and 70,000 school students are thought to have used vaping products. The same spokesperson also reiterated the usual – and as-yet unproven – ‘fact’ that teens using vaping products are “six times more likely to smoke regular cigarettes”.

In contrast, there have been studies that indicate using e-cigarettes is around 99% safer (if not more) than using tobacco cigarettes. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Taiwanese government has failed to mention that study in their decision. While the province has already banned vaping in theory, a recent meeting with government members and local law enforcers was aimed at working out how to enforce the ban. Significant fines will be put in place to combat this, thereby detracting many from switching to e-cigarettes.

And yet research has also shown that e-cigs are a highly-successful quitting tool when used to help people quit smoking. One American study by the CDC showed cigarette smoking had been cut by 50% in just five years, while vaping had seen a huge increase in that same period.

This is surely bad news for Taiwanese people looking for a way to help them quit smoking. It certainly doesn’t look as though the government is eager to make things any easier for them. What’s your view on this development? Let us know in the comments.

Another day, another vaping ban… or at least that is how it feels. Today we have news of the latest ruling to be enforced against vaping – this time in New York State. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has put his signature to the Clean Indoor Air Act, which means vaping will be made illegal in all public places in the state. This puts vaping on the same footing as smoking, which is already banned in public spaces.

The change to the law will happen in 30 days’ time. New York has often led the way when it comes to smoking bans. It has outlawed smoking in public places ever since 2003. Now, those same public spaces – including offices, restaurants, cafes, and bars – will no longer be vape-friendly for those looking to switch from smoking to electronic cigarettes.

A big change?

At first glance, it would appear the ban is another major step in the direction of making it harder to vape in public. However, on closer inspection, many locations within New York State have already put bans in place. It’s been impossible to vape in New York City, for example, for the past four years.

So, few people will notice much of a change in the state when the law becomes active in a few weeks’ time. The Governor said he was aiming for a “stronger, healthier New York” for everyone. However, he also mentioned the “long-term risks” posed by vaping, even though studies have shown the habit is far safer than smoking.

Nicotine addiction is mentioned as one of the major concerns surrounding vaping. But since most vapers are switching to e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking, surely it is throwing the baby out with the bathwater to assume vaping is just as bad as smoking? Cigarettes contain far more things that can be harmful than e-cigs, where nicotine is clearly the main concern. By switching to e-cigs, many people who have tried and failed to quit smoking before are now able to do so successfully. And let’s not forget other smoking cessation aids, such as nicotine patches. These have, oh… nicotine in them. So, should we ban those as well?

What are your thoughts on this latest ban for vapers to contend with? Do you live in New York? Do you think trying to quit smoking with the help of e-cigs is getting harder?

Every year, a group of people aims to quit smoking for Stoptober. Not all succeed, but many see this event as the first important step towards quitting. The 2017 campaign was interesting because it was the first time it supported the use of electronic cigarettes as a useful tool for helping people quit.

Following the success of the 2017 campaign, the government is now being urged to promote the switch from smoking to vaping throughout the year, rather than just for Stoptober. Mark Pawsey MP, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), said the campaign supporting vaping by Public Health England was “a welcome change”. Yet he also pointed out it “needs to be sustained, not just a one off.”

House of Commons debate

The APPG’s vice-chair, Gareth Johnson, led a debate in the House of Commons on 1st November that highlighted this very subject. Since the advertising campaign by PHE was deemed to be a great success, some MPs and Peers in the House of Lords have suggested the government should support ongoing measures to promote vaping. Now Stoptober has ended, there has been lots of evidence to suggest more people have bought vaping starter kits, and invested in supplies to help them switch from smoking to vaping.

A quick visit to the Stoptober site (part of the official NHS website) also shows how much space was given to e-cigarettes as a “great way to combat nicotine cravings”. There was a link to a dedicated page about e-cigarettes, while another link led to information about ‘stop smoking medicines’. These included patches, gum, and other nicotine replacement therapies.

The site does point out that vaping is not completely without risk, because of the presence of nicotine. However, the absence of tobacco, tar, and carbon monoxide certainly makes it healthier than smoking – the very message PHE was trying to get across. The Stoptober website also stated e-cigarettes combined with support from local services lead to “some of the highest quitting success rates”. More reason than ever to try vaping – and a reassuring message of support in the UK, in stark contrast to the approach taken by some other countries and locales.

“A continuous programme”

The APPG released a statement that called for an ongoing programme to continue promoting the benefits of switching from smoking to vaping. There is ample evidence to suggest vaping shops and suppliers enjoyed a healthy boost in business during Stoptober. This in turn suggests many smokers were trying e-cigs for the first time.

The aim is to ensure the public is also made more aware of the relative safety of vaping as opposed to smoking. Vaping has been confirmed as being some 99% safer than smoking, yet a recent survey indicated only 20% of people knew this. Two years previously, that figure stood at 31%. In 2013, just 7% of people thought vaping products were as bad as or worse than smoking. Fast-forward four years and the figure has shot up to 26%.

If the government does commit to a year-round plan to ensure vaping is accurately promoted as a real alternative to smoking, more people might quit smoking than is currently the case. With around 7.6 million UK residents still smoking, the potential health benefits of such a promotion cannot be denied.

Did you take part in Stoptober this year? If so, did you do so by switching to vaping? Have you managed to quit smoking with the help of e-cigarettes, or did you do it another way? Have you kept up with vaping since? Let us know your feelings and experiences by commenting below.

If you live in Bolton and you are thinking of using their Stop Smoking Service this month, think again. News reports indicate the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust is scaling back its support services in this area. From now on, the only people who will qualify to use the Bolton Stop Smoking service are pregnant women who wish to stop smoking to protect the health of themselves and their unborn babies.

Bolton Council said the removal of funds to support the service stems from the need to save £785,000 in the public health sector between this year and 2019. Unfortunately, the Stop Smoking Service has borne the brunt of these cuts. Thousands of local people are thought to have benefitted from the service up until now.

While savings of £46,000 will be made from this change, chief officer Jackie Bene is adamant patients will notice no changes. She is keen for the support services to be provided in a different way, so anyone wanting to give up smoking can still do so with support.

The UK is in an unusual position regarding vaping products. While many countries have either banned them completely or demonised them, the opposite is true here. Some of the smoking cessation services recommend vaping as the ideal alternative, with some giving away free e-cigs to help those who wish to quit smoking.

So, how will the removal of the smoking cessation support service in Bolton for all but pregnant women affect the smoking rate in the area? It is hard not to imagine saving money in the short term could potentially lead to bigger health costs in the future, if more people are afflicted by smoking-related diseases.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you live in Bolton? Are you affected by the changes? Let us know in the comments below.

While some people suffer from depression throughout their lives, some are not affected by it until they are over the age of about 60. In this case, the condition is referred to as late-life depression, or LLD. Now, a new study has been undertaken by a team at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. This has revealed nicotine could be recommended to help enhance the mood of some of those affected by this form of depression. While antidepressants are often prescribed to such individuals, they do not work in all cases. So, could nicotine be the next best thing?

It is hardly news to learn that nicotine can enhance cognitive performance. This has been well-known for a long time. but the authors of the new study suggest that certain “nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists” could be beneficial to those who do not respond to the usual medication. Nicotine could be included in this group.

The suggestion is those who do not benefit from typical antidepressants could take part in clinical trials in the future. These trials would deliver nicotine via a patch, in much the same way nicotine patches are used to help people quit smoking. It is not yet known whether the patches would work in the desired manner, but previous research has shown some indication of improved cognitive performance. ADHD patients have performed better with the aid of nicotine patches than those without, as one of the authors has already shown in a previous study.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think nicotine patches could be the answer to helping those with late-life depression to manage their condition? While nicotine is often seen as something bad, it could be it has the potential to help some people with specific medical conditions such as LLD.

Stoptober is here again, and if you’re familiar with the month-long event, you may have noticed something different about it this time. While Stoptober has been going since 2012, this is the first year in which e-cigarettes have been recommended to help smokers quit.

The annual event began on 1st October and will run for a four-week period. Research has indicated that someone who manages to quit for 28 days is five times more likely to quit permanently. That’s according to Public Health England, who have spoken out in favour of electronic cigarettes before in their drive to get more people to quit smoking.

Last year, around 53% of those who took part in the Stoptober event did so by using vaping devices to help them stop. It also led to an increase in the number of people who took up the challenge to stop smoking for 28 days, with more than 1.5 million doing so.

Further research also reveals more people have successfully quit smoking than ever before. Around 20% of attempts to quit met with success in the first half of this year. This compared with an average figure of 16% that was seen through the previous decade.

The number of smokers in the UK is dropping, and the introduction of vaping and Stoptober can only support that. Back in 2000, 26.8% of adults in England aged 18 and over smoked. Fast-forward to 2016, and that percentage had dropped to 15.5%. We doubt all of that is down to vaping and e-cigs, but it must surely be a contributory factor.

Other research has also revealed people who vape are more likely to keep on trying to quit smoking than those who use methods other than vaping. E-cigs also seem to ensure the smoker has a greater chance of success in their efforts, whether they try one or more times.

Many vapers will be glad to see support for electronic cigarettes as part of Stoptober. With some sources still trying to demonise vaping, it is reassuring to see support for it from some important quarters.

Are you taking part in Stoptober this year? Have you switched to vaping to help you quit smoking? Are you glad to see electronic cigarettes being recommended to those who are taking part? Let us know what you think below, and good luck in quitting smoking too!