Vaping in the U.S. has seen tumultuous times, with several vape-related illnesses seen in people, with one teen now having lungs like ‘a 70-year-old.’ However, later studies revealed that most diseases occurred because of people using unregulated and altered marijuana CBT devices. Nevertheless, The Trump administration quickly moved to ban e-cigarettes and disposable vapes, with warnings to avoid vaping altogether.
Alternatively, there has been no outbreak or cases of vaping-related illnesses in the U.K. It can be attributed to the fact that disposable vapes in U.K. has mainly been embraced as a way to quit cigarettes and never as a way to heavily indulge in marijuana vaping (something rampant in the U.S.). U.K. authorities have also stood in support of vapes as a cessation tool.
The director of health improvement at Public Health England even recommends vaping as an ideal alternative to smoking. However, he also suggests not to take up vaping if you dont already smoke. PHE also advises that vaping reduces the risk of tobacco and makes quitting cigarettes much more successful.
The main difference in attitudes towards vaping in America and U.K. arises from advertising, promotion, and regulations. In the U.K., the media has accurately depicted vapes as a replacement product and not an initiation product, whereas in the U.S., its in contrast.
E-juices And Bans:
A review by Public Health England found that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than cigarettes and helps around 20,000 people quit smoking annually. However, in the U.K., the evidence didn’t support the notion that vaping is a gateway to smoking; less than 1% of non-smoking youth have even tried vaping.
Although similar choices of flavours are available in both countries, the U.K. still sees a low number of young vapers because of the stricter advertising regulations. The nicotine cap in the U.S. is also much higher, leading to more nicotine intake.
The U.K. does not allow vaping products to air advertisements on T.V. or radio, although outdoor advertisements are allowed on buses, billboards etc. But the c-cigarette companies don’t get to have much social media presence. Whereas in the United States, the regulations weren’t strict at first, which has led to more than a quarter of high school students engaging in vaping.
American government’s actions to ban e-juices may be rational in their minds; The policy undermines the fact that flavours are an essential part of vaping’s appeal to adults, which plays a significant factor in quitting smoking. You can note this in Europe, where flavoured vapes have contributed significantly to a decline in smoking.
E.U. regulations also restrict e-cigarette liquids, but the rules are primarily based on the highest percentage of nicotine you can sell or purchase, 20mg/ml. In the U.S., an average Juul contains 59mg/ml of nicotine, leading to more nicotine potency.
Regulatory Differences:
There are a lot of concerns over the safety of vapes in the U.K., where according to a 2018 study: “among young people in Great Britain, those who had smoked were more likely to start vaping — and those who had used an e-cigarette, even if they weren’t smokers, were more likely to start smoking.”
PHE also stresses that you should only use UK-regulated vapes and e-liquids and should never use homemade vapes, nor should you alter your products. This is because a handful of cases reported in the U.K. are primarily caused by patients vaping THC, the psychoactive element in marijuana. Whereas standard vapes and e-juices rarely cause any illness.
The Trump administration’s plan has drawn criticism from some in the U.K. A prohibition on certain products might “create a black market,”. This is a concern shared by proponents of vaping in the U.S.
“We know prohibition doesn’t work. Indeed, an increasing number of teens in America have lately experimented with or used flavoured vapes, which has raised concerns. However, the proposed U.S. legislation disregards flavours play a significant role in appealing to adult smokers trying to give up smoking by banning all of these goods from the market.
Will Prohibition on Vapes Work:
Prohibiting or Banning vapes or vaping products can lead to more significant problems in the two countries. The U.K. has historically shied away from banning and has taken rationally successful decisions in such situations. For example, to prevent heroin addicts from contracting HIV through the reuse of contaminated needles, the British government made the unpopular decision to support the delivery of free hands to them in the 1980s. This encouraged a risky and illegal practice, but it was successful: In the U.K., the prevalence of HIV among drug injectors is today far lower than in other nations that at first disapproved of this strategy, including a large portion of the U.S.
While Britain continues to be officially committed to drug prohibition and has a high percentage of drug-related fatalities, the United States is progressively coming to the harm reduction case for cannabis. According to the argument in favour of legalizing cannabis, its prohibition strengthens and makes it more dangerous on the market, rewards criminal gangs with huge earnings, and encourages violence.
