In the last couple of months, E-cigarettes and vaping has been in the media. On 2nd October, the Faculty of Paediatrics RCPI released a position statement strongly supporting the introduction of legislation to ban disposable vapes.  Dr Paul Kavanagh said this is a helpful reminder of the risks posed by e-cigarettes to the health of children and young people. In this article, Dr Paul Kavanagh, the HSE’s Public Health Clincal Advisor on Tobacco, goes on to clarify some misconceptions and explains the dangers of E-cigarettes, he also asks parents to have a conversation with their children about the dangers of vaping:

We often hear from the vape industry that using e-cigarettes is “safer” than smoking conventional combustible cigarettes.   But what does this mean?  Smoking conventional cigarettes is incredibly dangerous.   Cigarettes kill 1-in-2 people who smoke and on average lead to 10 years of life lost for people who smoke.

Each week in Ireland, almost 100 people die and 1,000 people are hospitalised from preventable disease caused by smoking.   Given what we know now about cigarettes, no company would ever be authorized to sell these products now in 2023.

Is there any other legal and easily accessible product across the country that is more dangerous than cigarettes?  Using e-cigarettes does not involve burning tobacco, which releases tar and other chemicals known to be extremely harmful to human health.   But to say a product is not as dangerous as combustible cigarettes does not mean that it is free from serious harms.

The Health Research Board examined the harms caused by vaping and found it leads to burns and injuries, acute effects on the heart and lung, and contained chemicals known to cause cancer.   There are particular harms for young people.   Nicotine is highly addictive and affects the developing brain leading to problems with concentration, impulse control and mood.  More recently, some well-conducted studies have shown how, for young people with asthma, a very common condition in this group, vaping worsens lung health and leads to exacerbations.

The Health Research Board also found that young people who do not smoke and who start vaping are 3 to 5 times more likely to start smoking than those who don’t start vaping.   This is an extremely worrying finding.   We have made huge inroads to protect children from the harms caused by smoking, and vaping jeopardises these important public health gains.

These Health Research Board findings are consistent with other large and well-conducted reviews of e-cigarettes at EU level, in North American and in Australia.   Finally, a big issue when we talk about the known harms of e-cigarettes is that it’s possible that there are serious harms that are currently unknown and will only emerge as we continue following people with studies over the coming decades.

In summary, for young people, using e-cigarettes offers no benefit, is already linked with serious harms and we can expect this list of harms to grow over time.   Use of e-cigarettes is rising quickly in young people in Ireland and it is crucial now we take action to protect them from harm.   Most countries are taking urgent and decisive steps to better protect young people from the harms of e-cigarettes and it is important Ireland is not left behind.

• O'Brien, Doireann and Long, Jean and Lee, Caitriona and McCarthy, Anne and Quigley, Joan (2020) Electronic cigarette use and tobacco cigarette smoking initiation in adolescents: an evidence review. Dublin: Health Research Board.Electronic cigarette use and smoking initiation in adolescents
• McCarthy, Anne and Lee, Caitriona and O'Brien, Doireann and Long, Jean (2020) Harms and benefits of e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products: a literature map. Dublin: Health Research Board.Ecigarettes Harms and Benefits mapping review
• Quigley, Joan and Kennelly, Helen and Lee, Caitriona and O'Brien, Doireann and Williams, Michelle and McCarthy, Anne and Long, Jean (2020) Electronic cigarettes and smoking cessation: an evidence review. Dublin: Health Research Board.
• HSE response – concerns around young people and vaping  
• HSE - Tips on having a conversation with a young person 
• RCPI - position statement