By Kudakwashe Pembere
VAPES or e-cigarettes have been considered the best alternative for people who cannot quit smoking cigarettes largely due to the fact that they are less toxic compared to cigarettes.
Addressing a cross border cafe on science and harm reduction with health journalists from across Africa recently, South African medical doctor and harm reduction advocate Dr Kgosi Letlape noted he has a maxim he gives people who smoke and those who do not.
“I always say, If you’re not using nicotine, if you’re not using cigarettes, don’t start. If you’re using cigarettes quite. If you can’t quit, use alternatives,” he said.
Dr Letlape also said it was important for African governments to make proper policies which guarantee tobacco harm reduction.
“We need to first ask questions around the subject and come up with meaningful conclusions and a better understanding of the subject of smoking and harm reduction,” he said. “We want risk proportionate regulation and encourage people to follow a pathway from high risk to low risk. If need be, cigarettes must be banned.”
He said it was important to understand that tobacco harm largely comes from combustible products. He said the tobacco related diseases profile dropped in countries using non-combustible products compared to those that are using cigarettes.
Action on Smoking and Health UK director Clive Bates said at present, public health efforts were not prohibitive enough to reduce harmful smoking practices.
“People smoke for nicotine but die from the tar. People are smoking as a nicotine-seeking behaviour and the demand for nicotine is very strong. They want nicotine whether we like it or not,” Bates said.
Bates said e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes. “While e-cigarettes are not without health risks, they are likely to be far less harmful than combustible tobacco cigarettes.
“Although it is not possible to precisely quantify the long-term health risks associated with e-cigarettes, the available data suggest that they are unlikely to exceed 5% of those associated with smoked tobacco products, and may well be substantially lower than this figure,” he said.
According to The Guardian UK newspaper explainer, using an e-cigarette can help someone manage nicotine cravings.
“To get the best out of it, make sure you’re using it as much as you need to and with the right strength of nicotine in your e-liquid. You will not get the full benefit from vaping unless you stop smoking cigarettes completely,” reads the explainer.
Adds the explainer, “Generally, a smoker absorbs between 1 milligram and 2mg of nicotine from a single cigarette. Although there is between 8mg and 20mg of nicotine, only a fraction is actually inhaled – generally thought to be about a 10th. Various factors alter this – the strength of the filter, each individual person and how much is lost in the smoke – but this amount is a general rule of thumb.”
