Australia: Vaping described as gateway to smoking

After reviewing 25 existing studies, an Australian team recently found that vaping increases the chances of non-smokers becoming regular smokers of combustible cigarettes by three times. The research was conducted by the Australian National University’s National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health and led by Professor Emily Banks[1]. In most of the country, e-cigarettes and refills are now available on prescription.

A risky practice

The study therefore suggests that vaping can lead to regular smoking, particularly among younger populations. The review found "consistent evidence that the use of e-cigarettes, many of which deliver nicotine, is associated with an increased risk of subsequent smoking initiation, smoking initiation, or smoking relapse. Known demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral risk factors were taken into account."

While the magnitude of this risk varies depending on the country in which the research is conducted, non-smokers are on average three times more likely to smoke if they use e-cigarettes. Dr Becky Freeman, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney's School of Public Health and a leading tobacco control researcher, said it was difficult to synthesise the findings of multiple e-cigarette studies because the policy environments in the countries in which they were conducted were so varied.

Smoking in Australia

This research is part of a larger study currently underway in Australia to assess the impact of e-cigarettes on public health. The study is funded by the federal government and the report will be published in June 2021.

According to Emily Banks, 97% of teenagers in Australia have never smoked. This is an exceptional situation that should be preserved as much as possible. Especially since, despite this encouraging figure, smoking remains the leading cause of preventable illness and death in Australia, including among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. There are approximately 2.3 million smokers in the country.

Electronic cigarette and smoking cessation

Emily Banks finally disputes the usefulness of e-cigarettes in the context of smoking cessation: "Most people who successfully quit smoking do not use any products such as patches or medications to achieve this - they do it on their own, for example by using the cold turkey method". The current guidelines of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners consider e-cigarettes as a last resort for quitting smoking, after trying other measures.

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] BANKS Emily, BECKWITH Katie, JOSHY Grace, Summary report on use of e-cigarettes and relation totobacco smoking uptake and cessation, relevant to the Australian context, www.anu.edu.au (24 September 2020 - accessed 7 October 2020). [2] Melissa Davey, Vaping increases the chances of regular smoking threefold, Australian review finds, www.theguardian.com (29 September 2020 - accessed 7 October 2020). [3] BAENZIGER Olivia N., FORD Laura, YAZIDJOGLOU Amelia, JOSHY Grace, BANKS Emily, E-cigarette use and combustible tobacco cigarette smoking uptake among non-smokers, including relapse in former smokers: umbrella review, systematic review and meta-analysis, www.medrxiv.org (September 18, 2020 - accessed October 7, 2020). This article may also interest you: DNF, E-cigarettes only on prescription in Australia, Tobacco-Free Generation (September 24, 2020 - accessed October 7, 2020). DNF - For a Zero Tobacco World |