The 4.2 million Canadians who smoke cigarettes need accurate information about the alternatives that are available to them if they want to avoid the serious health risks of continuing to smoke tobacco.
Many people who smoke have already tried and failed to quit, either by going “cold turkey” or by using medical nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) such as patches and gum, but their dependency on nicotine leads to withdrawal symptoms and cravings that cause them to relapse into smoking.
If people were properly informed about alternative sources of nicotine, such as vape (“e-cigarettes”), heat-not-burn devices and oral tobacco such as snus, many would choose an option that provided the nicotine while greatly reducing the harmful health effects of smoking.
Accurate information about nicotine and vaping is hard to find. Media outlets tend to emphasize extremely rare risks, like exploding vapes, rather than smokers who have quietly switched to vaping and are now healthier. Unfortunately, many medical organizations and public health groups have adopted a prohibitionist stance against vaping and against nicotine.
Misinformation and lack of public health leadership not only discourages people from transitioning to life-saving alternatives but makes national targets for smoking reductions unattainable.
Canadian Vaping Association – 2022-04-13