MANILA, Philippines- Isang nangungunang grupo sa United Kingdom na nagtatanggol sa benepisyo ng paglipat mula sa paninigarilyo sa vaping ang nagpresenta ng ebidensya na nagpapatunay na ang ‘vaping’ ay hindi gaanong nakapipinsala kaysa sa paninigarilyo.
“The evidence says while vaping is not entirely risk-free, it is significantly less harmful than smoking – which claims around 80,000 lives every year in the UK alone,” ayon sa UK Vaping Industry Association.
Inilathala ng UKVIA ang isang report na, “In light of the industry and vapers not being invited to speak as part of the committee stage of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill” isinagawa ng UK Parliament para pag-usapan ang iminungkahing pag-amyenda.
Ayon sa ulat, napanatili ng Office for Health Improvement and Disparities na “vapes are at least 95 percent less harmful than cigarettes.”
Sinabi pa rin nito na ang vapes ay nakapagdulot ng “small fraction of the risks of smoking” at ang “switching completely from smoking to vaping conveys substantial health benefits over continued smoking.”
Tinukoy rin nito ang Chief Medical Officer for England, Sir Chris Whitty, na kinilala ang vaping bilang “much safer” kaysa sa paninigarilyo, nagpahayag na ang gagawing paglipat ay “positive health move.”
“Research conducted by Brunel University London recently found the National Health Service “could save more than half a billion pounds per year if just half of England’s adult smokers switched to vaping,” ang sinabi sa ulat.
Taong 2019, isang imbestigasyon ukol sa report na ang vaping ang naging sanhi ng outbreak ng lung illness sa Estados Unidos ang nakatuklas na ang mga kaso ay hindi dahil sa paggamit ng legal nicotine vaping products, kundi sa pamamagitan ng kontaminadong illegal products na naglalaman ng Tetrahydrocannabinol o THC—ang sangkap sa cannabis na sanhi ng psychoactive effects.
Matatandaang sinabi naman ni Alice Davies, Health Information Officer at Cancer Research UK na, “Headlines can be misleading as these cases were due to contaminants in illegal products and not linked to regular nicotine vaping. There was no similar outbreak in the UK and the chemicals of concern are banned in the UK.”
Ayon sa OHID Nicotine Vaping in England: Evidence Update, mayroong “lessons to be learnt from the mislabeled US EVALI (electronic cigarette or vape associated lung injury) outbreak’ and that ‘communications about EVALI should clearly separate vaping these illicit substances from nicotine vaping.”
Samantala iniulat naman ng Cancer Research UK na “there have been no confirmed cases of popcorn lung reported in people who use e-cigarettes” at ang vapes ay hindi naging sanhi ng lung injury.
Tinukoy din ng UKVIA ang pinakabagong data mula sa Action on Smoking and Health, isang public health charity na itinatag ng Royal College of Physicians sa UK kung saan ipinakikita na “almost 4.5 million adults in Great Britain have used vaping to cut down on or completely stop smoking.”
Ayon sa report, sinabi naman ni James Tucker, head of Health Analysis at Office for National Statistics, na “vaping has played a ‘major role’ in reducing smoking rates across the UK…which are now at a record low.”
Isang komprehensibong pagsusuri ng Cochrane, isang global independent network ng mga researcher o mga mananaliksik sa kalusugan, ang nagpakita ng data mula sa mahigit 300 clinical trials kabilang ang mahigit sa 150,000 katao na nais iwasan na ang e-cigarettes ay kabilang sa pinakaepektibong tulong na available para tulungan ang adult smokers na tumigil sa paninigarilyo.
Sinasabi na ang ASH UK, sa isang dossier ‘Addressing Common Myths About Vaping’ na nirepaso ng 16 leading scientists at academics, makikita na ang vaping ay hindi isang “proven gateway into smoking”.
Sinabi naman ng ASH UK na “this does not support the gateway hypothesis at a population level.” Kris Jose
