Review ignored evidence that vaping helps smokers quit, experts claim

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-07-22 03:00

Australia; NSW; VIC; QLD

An Australian Department of Health funded review of vaping failed to compare the risks of vaping to smoking conventional cigarettes, did not consider the net public health impact of vaping and ignored evidence that vaping is effective in smoking cessation, according to a group of Australian experts. The review found a link between vaping and smoking uptake in young people but these experts say the most likely explanation for this link is a common tendency for risk-taking, and that young people who experiment with vaping are more prone to take risks for personal, environmental or genetic reasons.

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Journal/
conference: Drug and Alcohol Review

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Organisation/s: St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, The University of Queensland, The University of Melbourne

Funder: CONFLICT OF INTEREST Dr Colin Mendelsohn was a Board Member of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association (ATHRA), a registered health promotion charity, from October 2017 to January 2020 and Dr Alex Wodak is a Board Member of ATHRA. ATHRA accepted unconditional seed funding from the vape retail industry to get established. Funding ceased in March 2019. Drs Colin Mendelsohn and Alex Wodak were Directors of ATHRA in March 2018 when it received a donation from Knowledge Action Change Communications, a private sector public health agency in the UK. The donation was sourced from a surplus arising from the Global Forum on Nicotine conference in May 2017. Knowledge Action Change Communications is legally separate from Knowledge Action Change (KAC). KAC has received two grants from tobacco companies: (i) In 2012, KAC received a small development research grant from Nicoventures (owned at the time by British American Tobacco) for evaluating the use of a nicotine delivery device in Scottish Prisons. The study was conducted in conjunction COMMENTARY 3 with the Scottish Prison Service. This funding was publicly declared. (ii) In 2018, The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World provided a grant specifically for the preparation of The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction report, an international review of tobacco harm reduction and the regulations involved. The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World is funded by an annual grant from Philip Morris International. Under the Foundation’s bylaws and pledge agreement, Philip Morris International and the tobacco industry are precluded from having any influence over how the Foundation spends its funds or focuses its activities. Dr Colin Mendelsohn is the author of Stop Smoking Start Vaping, published by Aurora Press. He has never received payments from electronic cigarette or tobacco companies. Dr Alex Wodak has never received payments from electronic cigarette or tobacco companies. Professors Wayne Hall and Ron Borland have no interests to declare.

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