A new study highlights how restricting access to flavored nicotine vaping products would lead a significant number of vapers to switch back to smoking.
The well-respected Addictive Behaviors Journal recently published a study examining the level of support and predictive behavioral responses to a hypothetical ban on non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes among regular adult vapers.
Most notably, the study found that, if a flavor ban were to be instituted, 17.1% of vapers would stop vaping and smoke instead.
Despite the laudable goal of improving the health of adolescents, little if any evidence is available to suggest that banning non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes would prevent young people from vaping. Additionally, restricting access to flavors has repercussions for adult vapers. The researchers noted that such restrictions could interfere with harm reduction potential for those who wish to use e-cigarettes as a cessation aid, or completely switch from cigarettes to e-cigarettes.
There is, however, evidence of the failures of implementing a flavor ban. In San Francisco, a ban on flavored tobacco products coincided with a sharp rise in cigarette smoking rates among youths, more than doubling the odds of young people engaging in the deadly habit. This should concern parents and lawmakers alike as e-cigarettes have been shown to be at least 95% less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Use of e-cigarettes among young adults, which should be discouraged, is clearly preferable to cigarette use.
Micahel Mirsky – Americans for Tax Reform – 2021-11-15.
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