New research has revealed a loss of trust in vaping amongst smokers.
According to the Adult Smokers Trust in Vaping study conducted by One Poll and commissioned by inhalation technology providers SMOORE, a poll of 2,000 smokers found that 29% only trust vaping a little as a method to quit smoking, whilst 13% do not trust it at all.
The report found that of those whose trust is diminishing, 35% cite the lack of independent long-term clinical research showing vaping to be less harmful than smoking while 31% are concerned about the lack of any information available about the harm profile of different vape products.
Contributing factors for the lack of trust included: negative reports and studies that smokers had come across, inconsistency of government attitudes across the world towards vaping, the growing black market for vapes, and the view of the World Health Organisation on vaping.
Dr. Chenxing Pei, a senior aerosol engineer at SMOORE Centre for Analysis, Testing, and Safety Assessment, claimed it was a lack of information that was causing the loss of trust. “There’s a major push to get smokers to move to vape products, but as of now, they just do not have all the information they need to make an informed decision to switch.
“It’s vital smokers are confident enough to switch, especially since health minister Neil O’Brien said the government must ‘exploit the huge potential of vaping to help adult smokers to quit’. But reducing or quitting is incredibly difficult, it’s imperative to give them the belief that what they are attempting isn’t going to be a waste of time.
“And if vaping is to be viewed as a credible way to quit, urgent efforts need to be made to ensure smokers trust these products to have the desired impact.”
The research examined how trust among these smokers could be regained, with 30% claiming public health campaigns promoting the evidence-based facts could turn the tide, particularly given that 68% of smokers claimed confusion when it comes to understanding which products would be suitable to help quit, with 70% saying they ‘don’t know who to believe’ when it comes to vape products.
Director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) John Dunne warned that the industry needs to act quickly to counter this lack of trust. “Whilst we should not lose sight of the fact that there is today some 4.3m vapers in Great Britain, a large proportion of whom have quit smoking, it is vital that actions are put in place to address the misperceptions about vaping and the lack of trust that clearly exists amongst adult smokers.
“The UKVIA, together with credible organisations such as the Royal College of Physicians, have been calling for changes in regulations for a number of years that will allow the evidence-based facts of vaping to be promoted further afield in the media – currently restrictive advertising and marketing regulations significantly limit this opportunity.
“Likewise, the NHS which has been involved in successful trials across the country whereby patients with smoking conditions have received free e-cigarettes, has a crucial role to play in sending a positive message out about the relative harm between vaping and smoking to those that are in their care.”
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