The latest challenges to the vaping market at the E-cigarette Summit 2021
The UK E-cigarette Summit [1] 2021 took place on the 7th and 8th of December. Since 2013 it has been the place for key stakeholders to discuss topics from regulations and public health to the latest vaping trends. Lets take a look at some of the key points from this years conference.
Due to the conference taking place online for the past 2 years the atmosphere was unusual. However, this structure limited the amount of disruption to the scheduled panels. Plus, the industry has matured rapidly over that time with vaping becoming more widely accepted in the UK.
Challenges Ahead
The first day of the E-cigarette Summit 2021 went straight into discussing the challenges ahead for the industry. Although it seems like most hurdles were covered during the vaping boom between 2013 and 2017, there is still plenty to discuss. Like with any sector, as it matures and grows new issues arise.
The first panel saw Journalist Marc Gunther[1] and vaping advocate talk with GP and Author Colin Mendelsohn[1]. With both being from the US and Australia respectfully, it was enlightening to get the perspectives of those managing the challenges and regulations overseas. Its hard to imagine what would happen to the UK market if we were to fall under the same restrictions as Australia. An example of this being nicotine products having to be prescribed by a doctor. The possession of nicotine without a prescription is completely prohibited. This in turn criminalises vaping. As an Australian GP it is great to see him advocate vaping as a way of quitting smoking. He discusses this in detail in his book ‘Stop Smoking Start Vaping‘[2].
Biased Research Against Vaping
The next session was chaired by former WHO (World Health Organisation) Director Robert Beaglehole[1]. This went through research about the relative harm and efficacy of vaping. Representatives from Bristol, Oxford, and University College London presented data and discussed anti vaping biases.
One of the key takeaways from this session was a statement from Robert Beaglehole. As the former director of WHO, he had deep understanding of the reasoning for the organisation’s stance on vaping. The lack of support for vaping is due to the concerns of youth uptake. However, he argues “What if you are wrong? If you are wrong, the cost will be huge and will be measured in millions of preventable deaths. This seems to me a totally unnecessary and unacceptable risk to take.”
Tobacco Harm Reduction Worldwide
This session looked at the global picture of reducing nicotine harm. The theme throughout was that vaping was a big driver of this. Contributors in this session gave opinions from a variety of countries including Norway, Germany, Australia and the UK. Although the panelists work in countries where there is no outright ban on vaping, they still have very different laws. As previously mentioned Australia has very strict regulations. Whereas, Germany allows vaping. However, it has a high amount of smokers who are reluctant to switch to vaping.
Debbie Robson[1] from King’s College London provided a great insight into the inequalities of the UK’s smoking rate. Some of the factors included were homelessness, mental health, alcohol and substance abuse issues. Where this is greater results in certain parts of the population having a higher smoking rate.
This was then followed by safer nicotine advocate Clive Bates[1] who presented a critical summary of the current state of the industry.
Vaping Regulations
The final session of the E-cigarette Summit 2021 went into detail about the regulations in place, mainly in the UK. Panelists included representatives from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)[3], Trading Standards and the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA)[4].
The Electronic Cigarette Company and Totally Wicked CEO Marcus Saxton[1] also took part. As the Chairman of the IBVTA he proposed the idea of needing a regulatory “sweet spot”. There is a need help adult smokers quit or reduce smoking while avoiding youth uptake. Plus, preventing unsafe products entering the market.
This session also included a debate led by the Tobacco Control Lead from the UK’s recently formed Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), Martin Dockrell[1]. This focused on issues with the enforcement of regulations. During this discussion, Kate Pike[1] from Trading Standards was asked what single product would she like to see removed from the market. Her response to this was simply “Tobacco”.
References
[1] The Virtual E-Cigarette Summit. The E-Cigarette Summit UK, 2021. [online] Available at: https://www.e-cigarette-summit.co.uk
[2] Dr Colin Mendelsohn. (n.d.). Stop Smoking Start Vaping – Book by Dr Colin Mendelsohn. [online] Available at: https://colinmendelsohn.com.au/book/
[3] Action on Smoking and Health. (2019). Action on Smoking and Health. [online] Available at: https://ash.org.uk/home/
[4] www.ibvta.org.uk. (n.d.). Independent British Vape Trade Association – IBVTA is the trade organisation for all responsible and ethical independent vape businesses in the UK. [online] Available at: https://www.ibvta.org.uk/
