World Vape Day: Vaping Devices Could Save Millions of Lives

On May 30, reports from foreign media indicated that Ishraq Dhaly, one of the conveners of the Voice of E-Cigarettes in Bangladesh, stated that opposition to e-cigarettes stems from ignorance of the latest scientific findings about them.

"This can cause harm. E-cigarettes can help Bangladesh achieve its goal of being smoke-free by 2040. E-cigarettes are the perfect tool to achieve this goal, as the best medical research shows they are 95% safer than smoking," he said.

Dhaly referred to a study by Public Health England (PHE), which is an executive agency of the UK Department of Health and Social Care. In a landmark review in 2015, PHE found that the harms of e-cigarettes are about 95% lower than those of tobacco.

Suchumann Zaman, president of the Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Traders Association (BENDSTA), stated that many people choose e-cigarettes as a tool to quit smoking because they are much less harmful. However, misinformation about e-cigarettes is widespread and very damaging.

"E-cigarettes help smokers quit, thereby protecting them from the long-term harms of smoking. E-cigarettes are 95% safer than smoking. They contain no carcinogens, tar, etc. This is a worthwhile trade-off. We must understand that this is harm reduction," Zaman said.

He emphasized that e-cigarettes are only for smokers. "We will never advocate for non-smokers to vape. What we want is for smokers to quit by using e-cigarettes. That is the purpose of e-cigarettes. It has nothing to do with fashion. E-cigarettes have the potential to save many lives," Zaman said.

Professor Mithun Alamgir, head of the Community Medicine Department at Enam Medical College, stated that smoking-related deaths are a silent global epidemic that people cannot see. "In epidemiological terms, we refer to smoking as a Group 1 carcinogen. All the most effective substances that cause cancer are in it. It is very deadly because burning tobacco produces thousands of chemicals. We can identify some, but it is difficult to determine all of them. How do we save ourselves? The answer is to quit smoking completely," Alamgir said.

Alamgir said the most effective method is to use e-cigarettes. "There are many ways to quit smoking. Various nicotine replacement therapies are being used. However, e-cigarettes have made a revolutionary step in helping smokers quit for public health," he said.

Musician, broadcaster, and producer Jewel shared his personal experience of starting to vape after undergoing treatment for a serious illness. "I underwent rigorous treatment, and doctors in Bangkok and London told me I had to quit smoking. They suggested I switch to e-cigarettes to help me successfully quit smoking," Jewel said.

World Vape Day (WVD) will be celebrated on May 30. This year, under the slogan "#Go The Extra Mile," the day aims to raise awareness of e-cigarettes as a harm reduction tool for smokers.