Are The Alarmist Headlines About Disposable Vapes Justified? We Asked The Experts 

The UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health is calling on UK authorities to ban disposable vapes, and this is not an isolated event. Panic about the circulation of the products and the increasing numbers of people using them is all over the media. But what do the experts in smoking cessation actually think?

In line with similar concerns from across the globe, Swiss experts are growing concerned that the marketing of disposable vapes on social media is growing out of control and leading to a sharp rise in teen vaping. The devices grew in popularity in 2019, and in most countries this rise in fame has been linked to marketing on social media platforms such as TikTok or Instagram, which use influencers to promote the products.

Switzerland’s French-speaking cantons, with the exception of Vaud and Jura have already banned vape sales to to under 18s. While Basel-City and Basel-Landschaft in the German-speaking region of the nation have also introduced such bans.

Meanwhile, many are blaming cheap flavoured disposable “puffs” for this expansion, with one industry projection estimating a sales growth of 2,200% in 2022 in Switzerland. Puff Bar sells disposable e-cigarettes online in a range of flavours including pink lemonade, tobacco, and strawberry, and colours (some of which light up when used). The devices contain 5%, or 50mg, of salt nicotine and are the size of a highlighter pen.

UK authorities are also on the alert after the annual YouGov youth survey for Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) carried out in March, indicated an increase in teen vaping and experimentation via disposable vapes.

Current vaping among U.K. children aged 11-17 was up from 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2022, reported the survey. While the percentage of teens who reported ever having tried vaping has increased from 14% in 2020 to 16% in 2022. In line with other reports, the survey found that disposable vapes are currently the most commonly used types of devices, with a concerning increase from 7% in 2020 and 8% n 2021, to 52% in 2022.

Meanwhile, vice-president of the the UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a pediatric respiratory consultant, Dr Mike McKean, said that the college has made the “very carefully considered call”, of calling for a ban, in light of concerns from its members about an “epidemic” of child vaping. He added that there is a lack of research on the possible long term effects of the products, and said there is a growing number of children suffering from lung problems due to vaping.

Sadly, all three claims are false. Scientific data have indicated (on multiple occasions) that there is no such thing as teen vaping epidemic, not in the UK, not anywhere else. The research we have on the products has clearly indicated that they are relatively safer than cigarettes, hence they serve their purpose as a safer alternative, well. And the cases of children reporting respiratory problems were due to vaping of illicit cannabinoids, not nicotine.

In light of the current circulating headlines about disposables, Vaping Post contacted two smoking cessation experts and tobacco harm reduction activists, Dr. Colin Mendelsohn and Prof. David Sweanor. We asked whether they view disposable vapes as an opportunity, just like other vapes and nicotine products? Or as a menace, perhaps due to their non-committal nature, and therefore appeal to minors?

Mendelsohn highlighted that this was precisely once of the issues tackled in his recent letter to Australia’s Health Minister Mark Butler. He explained that while the increase in black market disposables devices is understandably concerning, a ban is not the solution.

He said that in response to a ban many users would either revert back to smoking or just switch to other types of vaping products. Just like in the US, he added, disposables became a problem after vape flavours were banned. He explained that being simple and cheap, disposables play an important role in the transition of some adult smokers to vaping, such as those with disabilities, elderly and those who are homeless or in prison.

Similarly, Prof Sweanor said that the current panic about disposables is a clear example of how calls to ‘think about the children!’ are used as a key strategy in “many campaigns where people seek to use the power of the state to impose their moral views on the behaviour of others.”

“We see it on efforts to prohibit alcohol, pursue a war on drugs, deny gay rights, ban sex education, oppose vaccinations, prohibit drag performances, derail rights to birth control, etc., etc,” he rightly pointed out.

“There is a trade-off in play, and much like we have seen elsewhere on nicotine issues, a manufactured moral panic is being used to obscure that trade-off,” he explained. “It makes a deemed threat to young people seem to be the only issue at play, and no one needs to consider the health or rights of adults for whom such products can be a lifesaver.

This is completely at odds with the rational risk-benefit analysis regulators should pursue, where unintended consequences are rationally addressed while focusing on achieving overall health gains,” concluded Sweanor.

In other news, this year Glastonbury organizers, the massive UK festival which this year will be held between Wednesday 21st to Sunday 25th June, have added disposables vapes to the list of things not to bring. The website explained that this is due to concerns of pollution. “They pollute the environment and can be hazardous at waste centers (sic).”