WSJ: Why the UK Avoided the Vaping Illness Outbreak Seen in the US

On October 25, the Wall Street Journal published an article analyzing why the UK has not experienced the vaping-related lung illness outbreak seen in the US.

The Wall Street Journal reported that there are currently 3.6 million e-cigarette users and 5.9 million smokers in the UK (with some overlap between the two groups). Encouraged by the government, many UK smokers have completely switched to e-cigarettes.

The official stance in the UK is that vaping is 95% safer than smoking, a claim that has now been supported by early research on disease incidence. Organizations that have signed statements asserting that the harms of vaping are far less than those of smoking include Public Health England, the Association of Directors of Public Health, the Royal College of Physicians, and the Royal Society for Public Health.

In the UK, no one has died from vaping, and there are almost no cases of lung disease directly attributed to vaping.

A recent study concluded that vaping helps up to 70,000 people a year quit smoking by exposing them to others who have failed to quit.

Professor Linda Bauld from Cancer Research UK stated that the British public has voted with their feet and chosen to use e-cigarettes. This is a positive choice that we should promote.

In contrast, in the US, vaping has killed at least 33 people, injured about 1,500, and sparked outrage from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and President Trump.

The CDC states that most of the illnesses are associated with vaping products containing THC oil, particularly those obtained from the street or other informal sources (such as friends, family, or illegal dealers). Additionally, many nicotine e-cigarettes in the US have much higher concentrations than those allowed in the UK, where the nicotine concentration is limited to 2% under the EU Tobacco Products Directive.

A typical example is that Juul's nicotine strength is nearly three times that of UK e-cigarettes.

In the UK, manufacturers or importers of e-cigarettes must notify authorities six months before the product is marketed and comply with strict product safety regulations, including toxicological testing of ingredients and emissions, as well as ensuring tamper-proof and leak-proof packaging. Stimulants, colorants, and vitamin additives are strictly regulated.

In the US, there are almost no such regulations. Many observers say this explains the higher injury rates. John Britton, director of the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies at the University of Nottingham, stated that what is happening in the US is not occurring in the UK or any other country where e-cigarettes are prevalent.

The US Food and Drug Administration has recently proposed rules to regulate e-cigarettes, which will involve reviewing the ingredients, additives, toxicological characteristics, health impacts, and the manufacturing, packaging, and labeling of tobacco products.

The Wall Street Journal believes that public health and safety will be best protected only when the government views users' harmful habits as a regulatory issue rather than a prohibitionist one.