STATISTICS from Adult Smoking Habits in the UK show that smoking prevalence in England has dropped below 15 percent, approximately 2 million fewer smokers than in 2011. This brings the estimated number of smokers in the country to only 6 million.
The UK Tobacco and Related Products Regulation has actively managed and controlled smoke-free environments, domestic advertising, domestic sales and age restrictions to realize this remarkable reduction in the number of smokers. Simultaneously, it has been deliberate in its adoption of harm reduction strategies to encourage smokers to reduce, if not eliminate, the use of traditional cigarettes.
While prescription medicine, nicotine replacement therapy, counseling and a combination of treatments point to varying degrees of success in smoking cessation, the role of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) or e-cigarettes in the UK government’s drive to a smoke-free generation has been strengthened through continuing evidence-based research.
Based on a new study by the University College London, smokers are three times more likely to succeed in quitting smoking with the use of e-cigarettes than other nicotine replacement therapy products, such as patches and lozenges.
Moreover, the proposition on reduced harm from e-cigarettes is reinforced by parallel findings not only from Public Health England, but also from Cancer Research UK, one of the world’s leading independent charities dedicated to cancer research. According to PHE, vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking combustible cigarettes while Cancer Research UK found that people who stopped smoking and switched to e-cigarettes have significantly lower levels of toxic and cancer-causing substances in their bodies compared to those who continued to smoke combustible cigarettes.
The reduction in smoking prevalence has coincided with the increase in e-cigarette users in the UK, with over 3 million now compared to only 700,000 in 2012. Most of these users report using e-cigarettes because they have already quit smoking altogether, while 40 percent are still trying to wean themselves off tobacco.
In the Philippines, e-cigarette advocates have been closely monitoring the terminal decline of smoking in the UK and other countries, where e-cigarettes are regulated, rather than banned.
According to Dr. Lorenzo Mata, a seasoned family health doctor and long-time medical practitioner, both UK and the Philippines rank smoking as the leading preventable cause of illness and premature death. This is why solutions to lower smoking prevalence, especially among the youth, are aggressively being sought.
“Smoking is the largest cause of health inequalities, even for a first-world country like the United Kingdom,” Dr. Mata said. “Alternative nicotine delivery systems, such as e-cigarettes, are showing a major role in helping reduce smoking prevalence and consequently, improving public health.”
The Department of Health (DOH) estimates that there are over 16 million adult Filipino smokers. The enforcement of the nationwide ban on smoking in public places, in effect since mid-2017, and the push for higher tobacco taxes are only two of the government approaches to arrest the surge in tobacco-related illnesses.
Dr. Mata suggests that the DOH look at evidence-based research and its impact on public health.
“We encourage the DOH to consider the success of Public Health England in significantly reducing the number of cigarette smokers in the country by actively advocating the use of reduced-harm smoking alternatives, such as e-cigarettes,” he said. “Adult Filipino smokers should be given the access and opportunity to use less harmful smoking products, which could benefit roughly 7 out of 10 Filipino tobacco smokers planning or thinking about quitting smoking.
He also cites how the use of e-cigarettes can translate to additional funding for the government’s Universal Health Care Act.
“The Philippines currently spends over P260 billion in health care and productivity costs, due to cigarette smoking. By promoting the use of e-cigarettes, which have been continuously proven by credible medical bodies to be less harmful, smokers will be encouraged to make the switch, and reduce their risk of incurring tobacco-related illnesses, allowing the government to reallocate the budget for other equally significant health priorities,” Mata said.
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