Balanced debate on vaping needed as part of Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control

As Government targets a Tobacco Free Ireland by 2025, the need for balanced and evidence-based debate on vaping as a harm reduction tool has never been more important. That’s the message from Vape Business Ireland (VBI) to Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD who will open the Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control hosted by the advisory board of the World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH).

Central to the event programme will be a discussion on the successes and challenges of regulating vaping products. Commenting, VBI spokesperson, Eoin O’Boyle said: “Today’s event will act as the curtain raiser to the 18th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) rescheduled to take place in Dublin next year. Ahead of both events, we once again reiterate to Government the importance of not being obscured by one-sided commentary in relation to vaping products. Daily our members continue to see the significant role vaping is playing as a less harmful alternative in helping Irish people switch away from smoked tobacco products.

“We know from Healthy Ireland research that 41 per cent of Irish people who successfully quit smoking over a twelve-month period did so using vaping products, making vaping the most successful quit tool after will power alone. This evidence is further supported by Public Health England’s (PHE) seventh independent report on vaping published earlier this year which found that quit rates involving a vaping product were higher than any other method in every region in England.”

The Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control is set to convene under the theme ‘Navigating Change’, and will address the changing political, economic and social landscape of tobacco control.

Mr O’Boyle added: “In the context of today’s event and the forth coming pre-legislative scrutiny process of the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill, we want to remind the Taoiseach and Minister’s Stephen Donnelly TD and Frank Feighan TD why it’s vital that a well-rounded approach is taken to inform health policy making on vaping products. Failure to do so could have a potentially damaging effect on over 240,000 Irish vapers, the majority of whom have made the choice to switch to vaping to help reduce smoking as well as smokers who are currently trying to quit.”