For the Health of Smokers Worldwide, the UK Must Speak Up for Vaping

Last week, Public Health England announced that fewer people than ever (less than 17%) are smoking in the UK. They also emphasized the role of e-cigarettes in helping smokers quit traditional cigarettes.

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) estimates that 2.8 million people in the UK vape - more than any other country outside the US. In the UK, we consider this a positive development. A report from Public Health England last year found that e-cigarettes are 95% safer than smoking. A second report from the Royal College of Physicians agreed.

However, other countries have taken a different view. In Australia, Brazil, and Singapore, for example, e-cigarettes are banned while more dangerous cigarettes and smoking tobacco remain completely legal.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently acknowledged that switching smokers to less harmful sources of nicotine would be a significant public health victory. Yet, at the same time, it refused to endorse vaping. While some estimates suggest that vaping could save billions of lives in the coming years, the WHO continues to ignore the evidence.

In November, the WHO will hold discussions in New Delhi, India, regarding further tobacco control measures. Instead of embracing electronic nicotine devices, it proposes restrictions, taxes, and even bans on them.

Public health advocates around the world will seek the UK to defend safer alternatives to cigarettes. However, the UK will have no voting rights in India. Despite Brexit, it will still be subject to the EU, which raises concerns about representing the collective votes of all its members.

UK health officials are discussing this today with their European counterparts in Brussels. Will they push the EU to speak for safer sources of nicotine? I hope so. Will they succeed? It will require strength and courage.

So far, France is the only EU country to share the UK's approach. Together, they are the only EU countries where cigarettes must now be in plain packaging, and they are rightly considered leaders in tobacco control in Europe. They must hold their ground. A billion lives may depend on it.

Professor Chris Snowdon is the Director of Knowledge Action - Change and holds an honorary chair at Imperial College London.