Research agency Britain in Focus recently polled 2,775 adults in the UK on some of the biggest issues facing the country, including attitudes to vaping.
Reducing the range of flavours available was only seen by 19% as an effective way of tackling underage vaping. Just 18% believed a ban on vaping in public spaces should be used to tackle underage vaping. Perhaps more worryingly, over a third of vapers in the UK today say they would ignore a ban on flavoured vapes and would continue to buy them online, from abroad or elsewhere.
In addition, 43% of those polled said a licence for retailers – similar to that for alcohol and cigarettes – would be the most effective way of reducing underage vaping. 38% want this backed up with higher fines for those selling vapes to underage customers. A ban on social media advertising of vapes was also supported – by some 26%.
Such opinions are likely to directly impact the new Labour government, the survey revealed. 39% of vapers say a ban on flavours would make them less likely to vote Labour – with 30% saying it would make them “much less likely” to back the party at the next election.
The results come as media reports circulate this week that the number of adults in England to have started vaping despite never having been ‘regular’ smokers has risen. A reduction in flavours may well result in many returning to tobacco. Britain in Focus’ figures show that 10% of vapers would quit rather than use tobacco flavour vapes and 27% would carry on - but 11% say they would start smoking or smoke more often if vape flavours were reduced.
Clearly the story is not a simple one. Liam Humberstone, technical director at supplier Totally Wicked, said: “Certain misleading narratives are creating significant headwinds for smokers considering switching to vaping as a less harmful alternative to cigarettes. Worse still, they’re driving many former smokers back to tobacco, undoing the progress made in harm reduction over the last decade.
“Vaping products are - and have always been - intended solely for adults seeking a safer alternative to smoking. It is reasonable to hypothesise that many young adults in this study who have started vaping would likely otherwise have become ‘social smokers’ if vaping had not been an option.”
Liam adds that public understanding of vaping’s relative safety has significantly declined. “Only 7.7% of the general populace can accurately recognise that vaping is far less harmful than smoking. Even more alarming is the fact that 50% of both smokers and the general population now incorrectly believe it’s either as harmful as, or even more harmful than smoking.”
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