Renewed focus on vaping leaves retailers with unclear guidance on the product category

There has been a surge in reports about vaping, e-cigarettes, in recent months, reports critical on the impact of vaping. Here are four of the recent reports:

1. ABC triple j.
2. New Atlas.
3. Business Insider.
4. Science Daily.

Then, there is the report from Convenience and Impulse Retailing claiming a CSIRO study assists people to quit smoking. That is not the full story. Click here for the CSIRO report. As you can read, it offers six conclusions:

1. Conclusion: the evidence available suggests that regular use of e-cigarettes is likely to have adverse health consequences. There is a lack of clarity about the magnitude of adverse health effects, and the quantity of e-cigarette use required to trigger adverse health effects.
2. Conclusion: In many countries where appropriate evidence is available, it appears that e-cigarette use occurs with cigarette use. However the evidence is consistent in suggesting that use of e-cigarettes by non-smoking youth predicts future smoking. While many smokers and former smokers state a preference for e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation method, the effectiveness of this method compared with other smoking cessation methods is not known.
3. Conclusion: based on the current evidence it is not possible to determine whether e-cigarettes have a positive or a negative effect on health in countries where they are permitted.
4. Conclusion: when e-cigarettes are used by smokers instead of conventional cigarettes there is evidence for improvement in individual health. However, use of e-cigarettes may also introduce independent health risks, and ‘dual use’ (using both e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes) is popular.
5. Conclusion: It is a critical research question to determine the effectiveness of e-cigarettes compared to other smoking cessation methods among Australian smokers generally, and also among specific groups with a high smoking rate. The rate at which young people and adults in Australia start smoking as a result of using e-cigarettes should be assessed and monitored to fill a research gap. On present evidence, it is not possible to determine whether less restrictive access to e-cigarettes would reduce rates of smoking in Australia.
6. Conclusion: There does not appear to be a consistent pattern of rate of e-cigarette use compared to tobacco smoking across countries. However, while tobacco smoking is a well-established practice that varies widely between countries, e-cigarette use has spread across countries in the recent past with different rate of device availability, marketing, familiarity and regulations. It is plausible that a between-country relationship for tobacco smoking and e-cigarette use could develop in the future.

The gap between the six conclusions and reports, like in Convenience and Impulse Retailing, demonstrate how vested interests are dealing with issues related to vaping.

Fairfax media reported yesterday on the source of some funding for a pro-vaping lobbying group, showing that some funding came from businesses selling vaping products.

Vaping remains controversial on a range of fronts. Retailers wondering if vaping products are a replacement for tobacco products have research to do, to guide their decision on whether to engage or not.

The differences between countries on regulation fuels confusion on vaping. Considering this, it feels like we are some distance from a resolution that can be trusted.