Vaping is the same as smoking
Vaping is NOT smoking. There is no tobacco in vaping. It does not produce tar, smoke or carbon monoxide, the most damaging and cancer-causing elements of tobacco smoking.
Research by Public Health England found that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking.
These findings are backed up by Respect Vapers supporters, many of whom tell us they are feeling healthier by using vaping to quit smoking. (insert testimonial)
Vaping doesn’t help people quit smoking
This is not true. In Ireland, more people use vaping to quit smoking than any other quit method tool (such as patches, gums, sprays).
Cancer Research UK have also stated that the evidence so far indicates vaping is as effective as patches, gum etc in giving up smoking. Professor Lion Shahab, a Professor of Health Psychology at University College London (UCL) and Co-Director of the UCL Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, says:
“Vaping has had a tremendous impact on tobacco control. It is no more addictive than drinking coffee. Research shows there are no health consequences in vaping and I can’t see a problem if people opt to use vaping instead of smoking.
Dr Garrett McGovern, Medical Director of the Priority Medical Clinic, a private addiction treatment clinic in Dublin and a member of the board of directors of EUROPAD (European Opiate Addiction Treatment Association), said Ireland should now be embracing vaping as a way of helping people to give up tobacco.
“Vaping should be promoted as one of the ways to quit smoking rather than shunning it. Vaping has been around for over 18 years and our hospitals are not full of patients with vaping-related illnesses.” he said.
Vaping is not regulated in Ireland
This is false, vaping has been regulated in the EU since 2015.The content, quality of materials and advertisement of vaping products is strictly regulated in Ireland. If your vaping product is purchased in a reputable outlet, you can be sure that it meets the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPDII) requirements.
This directive sets the standards relating to size, content and quality of the product and the way it is marketed. The chemical content in all vaping products in Ireland must be assessed and approved by the HSE before they can be sold in this country. There have been no illness cases in Ireland related to vaping.
