Laws change on e-cigarettes

 In Dr Marc Hughes

The first thing I should state before this article is that I don’t have a vendetta against smokers. The reason I post so many articles on the topic is that, as a dentist, I directly see the damage it causes to gums and mouths.

So, in theory I have always welcomed the fact that e-cigarettes are reputed to be a healthier option, yet I personally have reservations and hold judgement about their effects until we have more evidence. When you think about regular tobacco cigarettes it’s only five or six decades since they were billed as having health benefits. Hindsight has shown us the true devastating effects on the health of smokers and they remain the leading cause of preventable deaths, killing almost 80,000 people annually in England alone.

The reason I have decided to cover this topic in our newsletter is that there are many of our patients who use e-cigarettes, in fact in the U.K. alone there’s over 3 million ‘vape’ and there has recently been changes to the law concerning them.

You can read more fully about the laws by clicking here but the basic position is that they will limit the size of e-cigarette tanks and limit the strength of the oils.

There are also bans on certain ingredients, including colourings and caffeine. I particularly welcome the colourings ban as my personal worry with brightly coloured, fruity flavoured oils is that they will attract younger people and potentially start a nicotine addiction which otherwise would have been avoided.
So much is unknown about e-cigarettes and in a generation, we will have a better idea of the health implications, until then I advise my patients to try an alternative. I appreciate that many people struggle when trying to quit cigarettes however my preference is to advise any of the other nicotine replacement therapies like patches, gum or mists. These are truly trying to break the habit rather than replace one unhealthy one with another.

Of course, no nicotine will always be much safer than even minimal amounts.

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