Article published on Vapingpost - Author: Jérôme Harlay - Translator: The Vape Club
A year after the publication of a PHE article in support of the vaping industry and vapers in their country, four anti-tobacco advocacy groups have asked the French government to review and strengthen its tobacco control programme, following the UK's successful policies.
The UK government has made it clear that it is pro-vaping with a Public Health England (PHE) paper published last year. The aim of this paper was to reinforce the benefits of e-cigarettes (95% safer than smoking) to the public despite the misinformation the media has received from anti-vaping and sceptical organisations.
In the footsteps of PHE
Professor Ann McNeill and Professor Peter Hajek put together what is called “A fair review of the key premises of e-cigarettes”, which is the first part of the report.
This paper highlights the observations in the switch between smoking and vaping and they find the benefits of switching to e-cigarettes for smokers. They not only look at the proportion of adults who reduce their smoking, but also at the proportion of teenagers who do. Ultimately, e-cigarettes are used more by smokers and ex-smokers in the UK.
Based on evidence that vaping is now one of the most popular ways to quit smoking in France and that e-cigarettes have made a major contribution to reducing smoking in the UK, four public health organisations in France have lodged a complaint and asked the government to review its tobacco control programme.
Notable examples of tobacco control in the UK:
- Raise cigarette prices
- Re-standardize smoking
- E-cigarettes are certified as an effective smoking cessation tool, combined with public education, recommended by health professionals, available in a variety of nicotine levels, and available in major health facilities.
French Aid, Fédération Addiction, RESPADD and SOS Addictions have raised awareness of the UK's tobacco control policy with the government and, in their opinion, it is the most effective and rapid way to control tobacco to date.
French public health organizations have taken action.
Following in the footsteps of the UK, where major public health organisations have endorsed the PHE findings and recommendations, their counterparts in France have also invited MPs and senators to review and adapt their tobacco control policy, called the PNRT (Plan National de Réduction du Tabagisme).
In the article, French organizations complain that, since May 2016, tobacco control policies have curbed rather than promoted the use of e-cigarettes in France.
The government is required not to ignore consumer opinions.
They urged the government to consider the example from the UK and to follow suit in France, with the e-liquid standard set by AFNOR. They also asked the government to take into account consumer opinions to demonstrate harm reduction and combine it with existing methods to make smoking cessation more effective. With plain packaging already established in the country, medical advice, NRTs, and e-cigarettes should also be promoted to all individuals of legal age.
