Study: 68% of Smokers Are Willing to Switch to Vaping

A non-independent study conducted by Philip Morris International shows that only 43% of smokers surveyed in Australia believe they have all the information they need to comfortably switch to vaping, compared to 62% in Brazil and 66% in Hong Kong.

Lead researcher Povaddo surveyed 16,099 smokers and non-smokers across 13 countries, including Australia, and found that many of them would consider switching from smoking to vaping. Globally, 68% of smoking participants indicated they would be more likely to switch if they could access reliable information outlining the differences between available products.

The Australian cohort of the survey consisted of 1,238 respondents, of which 11% were current smokers and 4% were occasional smokers. Data compiled from this cohort suggests that providing such information would be very beneficial.

In Australia, public health experts and Liberal Party members have been working to overturn the current e-cigarette ban. In Australia, these devices are legal, but using nicotine-containing cartridges is not.

In August 2016, some public health advocates, including the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA), submitted a proposal to the local regulatory authority, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), to remove nicotine concentrations below 3.6% from poison standards. However, in February 2017, the TGA rejected the application and maintained the nicotine ban.

In September last year, New South Wales Liberal Trent Zimmerman chaired a parliamentary inquiry into e-cigarette use and again raised the issue of e-cigarette regulations in parliament. In response, Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt eventually agreed to conduct an independent investigation into the scientific evidence regarding these devices. However, nearly a year later, little information has been released about the investigation.

Finally, in response to a question posed by Senator Cory Bernardi earlier this month in the Senate, the Australian government has released some details:

The study will be conducted by the Australian National University’s National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, led by renowned epidemiologist Professor Emily Banks and her team. The project has a grant of $750,000 starting from February 27, 2019, and is expected to be completed by December 2020.