Sunday, July 20, 2025
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Parliamentobserver
  • Ecology
  • Economy
  • Healthcare
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Business
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
Parliamentobserver
Home Economy

Harm Reduction Takes a U-Turn on Vaping

Dennis Rogers by Dennis Rogers
September 29, 2022
in Economy
0
Harm Reduction Takes a U-Turn on Vaping
0
SHARES
11
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Reprinted from Inside Sources

Public health officials and those with significant sway in setting health policy were joyous last month when the Food and Drug Administration denied the ability of Juul Labs to continue selling its vaping device.

Related posts

HIT-NOT reduces forklift accidents and increases safety in logistics

HIT-NOT reduces forklift accidents and increases safety in logistics

July 7, 2025
FTC Building

FTC Cracks Down on Hidden Charges and “Junk Fees” in New Proposal

October 5, 2024

Handed down as a Marketing Denial Order, the decision forces gas stations, retailers and vape shops to pull Juul devices off the shelves, depriving consumers of their ability to buy these products through legal means.

Though the company has won a temporary stay by the D.C. District Court of Appeals, the FDA’s recent “nicotine zero” mandate — including limits on nicotine in cigarettes and bans on menthol tobacco products — shows the administration won’t back down on its plans to reduce nicotine consumption.

But that would be a real missed opportunity for public health.

Rather than banning consumer products or setting rigorous — if not impossible — standards for getting vaping products to market, the FDA could follow the president’s rhetoric and endorse tobacco harm reduction as an alternative.

As a matter of public health, harm reduction is one of the key pillars of President Biden’s National Drug Control Strategy, as he revealed in this year’s State of the Union address. This includes education, support, clean needle exchanges and safe injection sites for those addicted to drugs like heroin and other prescriptions. If this path is virtuous for those addicted to opioids, why shouldn’t it be the same for those addicted to nicotine, as practiced elsewhere?

The United Kingdom not only recognizes the benefits of vaping devices but actively recommends them in their own materials and the National Health Service, their state health system, championing the 1.2 million British vapers who have now quit smoking. Health wards in New Zealand routinely offer vaping products to patients.

If the United Kingdom and New Zealand can cite various studies and health surveys demonstrating that vaping devices are 95 percent less harmful than smoking, why does this evidence fail in crossing the ocean to American regulators?

If the latest Gallup polls are believed, 6 percent of Americans are vapers, most of whom make less than $40,000 yearly. That is the equivalent of 20 million vapers who have chosen a less harmful product to quell their nicotine cravings.

Twice that number —nearly 40 million — are still smokers, according to the CDC. Pivoting to a harm reduction strategy could easily save millions of lives.

That includes recognizing the vape shop owners, passionate vaper community groups, and tobacco control professionals who have come to rely on an entire industry of vaping products as a more effective strategy in eliminating the harms of tobacco.

Those who applaud the administration’s actions on Juul point to the company’s past advertising to youth and the higher uptake of young people to vaping devices. These are troubling situations that deserve careful consideration, public scorn and action, especially considering the effects of nicotine on adolescent brains.

That said, rather than mitigating these harms to young people and addressing them properly, why are we so quick to abandon 40 million smokers from the opportunity to switch to a less harmful product to satisfy their addiction?

Most vapers enjoy products from a competitive marketplace of open tank systems, disposables and pod tanks far from the grip of any tobacco executive. This point is often overlooked in the public debate on vaping.

If the pandemic taught us anything about public perceptions of risk, it is that we must empower individuals to make decisions to improve their own situation rather than making it for them.

Thwarting adult consumers’ ability to choose a healthier option is denying the genuine health benefits that come with embracing harm reduction.

We have laws for a reason, and they should be enforced to keep vape devices away from the hands of youth. Education and strong parental supervision would do wonders in keeping a generation from addiction.

But completely abandoning the prospect of a smoke-free society would be a folly, and it’s time our public health officials admit it.

Previous Post

Chen Ye: Active revegetation does not impact nitrogen removal efficiency in a riparian zone

Next Post

The Problem of Policymaker Ignorance

Next Post
The Problem of Policymaker Ignorance

The Problem of Policymaker Ignorance

RECOMMENDED NEWS

Beware the Allure of Simple ‘Solutions’

Beware the Allure of Simple ‘Solutions’

3 years ago
Russia Bans Short Selling

Russia Bans Short Selling

3 years ago
US-Japan relations in an era of economic statecraft

US-Japan relations in an era of economic statecraft

3 years ago
Can the CHIPS Act heal the nation’s economic divides?

Can the CHIPS Act heal the nation’s economic divides?

3 years ago

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Business
  • Ecology
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Healthcare
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized

POPULAR NEWS

  • Klaus Schwab – The Most Dangerous Man in the World

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Dr. Robert Malone v WEF

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Ukraine Adopts WEF Proposals

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trudeau Backs Down After Banks Scream about Massive Withdrawals

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trudeau’s Approval Rating Hits 12-Month Low

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Parliamentobserver

We bring you latest news about ecology, economy, healthcare, politics, education, business.

Recent News

  • JeraSoft Celebrates 20 Years of Trusted Connections
  • PuzzleFree Game Set to Launch in July 2025
  • The $14.6 Billion Question: What the Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in History Means for Medical Leaders and Investors

Category

  • Business
  • Ecology
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Healthcare
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized

Recent News

JeraSoft Celebrates 20 Years of Trusted Connections

JeraSoft Celebrates 20 Years of Trusted Connections

July 11, 2025
PuzzleFree Game Set to Launch in July 2025

PuzzleFree Game Set to Launch in July 2025

July 10, 2025
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

© 2022 parliamentobserver.com Submit news release

No Result
View All Result
  • Ecology
  • Economy
  • Healthcare
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Business

© 2022 parliamentobserver.com Submit news release

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In