The Canadian Vaping Association: Misleading Study on Vaping Risks Undermines Public Health Efforts
2024年5月18日 - 12:00AM
A recent study published in Nature used artificial intelligence to
analyze how chemicals from vape flavours transform and affect the
human body when heated. This study has received widespread media
attention, but its conclusions are flawed and potentially harmful.
The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) is concerned that promoting
this flawed study could discourage adults who smoke from
transitioning to vaping, a significantly less harmful alternative.
Subject matter experts have criticized this study through
commentary papers and various digital forums, stating it is
fundamentally flawed due to its unrealistic assumptions and
methodologies. The study incorrectly assumes that pyrolysis, a
process requiring specific high-temperature conditions, occurs
during typical e-cigarette use without providing evidence for such
conditions. The study references outdated and irrelevant
temperature data and uses flawed methodologies from cited studies
that do not reflect real-world vaping conditions, such as measuring
temperatures without airflow. As a result, the study's conclusions
about the health risks of vaping are disconnected from the actual
user experience, leading to potentially misleading and harmful
public perceptions.
Moreover, this study was published at a time when vaping
flavours are under scrutiny in Canada, with an open proposal to
restrict flavours to tobacco, mint, and menthol. Flawed studies not
only support cigarette sales but also add confusion for regulators.
Recent surveys reveal that 87% of Canadians incorrectly believe
that vaping is as harmful or more harmful than tobacco. These
misperceptions are worsened by flawed research receiving widespread
attention.
Research and consumer sales data continues to indicate that
flavoured vaping products are crucial for vaping adoption by people
who smoke and for continued smoking abstinence. Global health
authorities and agencies continue to agree that vapour products are
significantly less harmful than smoking. Health Canada’s Tobacco
Strategy incorporates vaping as a component of its efforts to
achieve the goal of reducing smoking rates in Canada to less than
5% by 2035.
“When discussing the potential harms of vaping, it is imperative
that commentary contextualize the associated risk. Emphasizing the
risks without comparison to smoking can be detrimental to public
health and counterproductive to Canada's Tobacco Strategy,” said
Samuel Tam, CVA President.
Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and
illness in Canada, with more than 40,000 deaths attributed to
tobacco use each year. As Canada continues to regulate vaping and
flavours, the relative harm must be appropriately weighed. Vaping
presents a tool to significantly reduce the harm caused by tobacco
and more rapidly reduce smoking rates.
About the CVA: The Canadian Vaping Association is a registered
national, not-for-profit organization, established as the voice for
the Canadian vaping industry. The association is the primary
liaison with the federal and provincial governments on all
legislative and regulatory issues related to the industry.
Contact: Darryl Tempest, Government Relations
Counsel to the CVA, dtempest@thecva.org