UK Survey Reveals Smokers' Overestimation of Vaping Risks

Studies supported by Cancer Research UK have shown the damaging effects that fear mongering and false information are having on the public's perception of vaping.

Some really concerning information about the UK public's perceptions of tobacco harm reduction techniques has been released by the weekly poll that has been conducted since 2006 to monitor smoking habits and guide stop-smoking programs.

Fewer smokers nationwide now consider vaping to be a less dangerous option than its lethal equivalent, combustible cigarettes, according to CRUK.

The NHS and the UK government have even backed smoking cessation devices, in addition to other scientific studies, but new data from a poll with 28,000 participants clearly illustrates the disastrous mental change. According to the most recent data, between 2014 and 2023, 57% of current smokers in the UK thought vaping was equally as dangerous, if not more so.

According to a 2014 survey, 44% of smokers believed vaping to be less dangerous than smoking, while 11% voted it to be more toxic and 30% judged it to be equally bad as combustibles.

However, CRUK discovered that the percentage of people who believe vaping is more dangerous has increased to 23% based on the most recent sweep of data published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Experts and those who use vaporizers are definitely concerned about this development as the goal of a smoke-free future gradually eludes them.

Dr. Sarah Jackson of University College London, one of the researchers, stated:

“These findings have important implications for public health.

“The risks of vaping are much lower than the risks of smoking – and this isn’t being clearly communicated to people.

“This misperception is a health risk in and of itself, as it may discourage smokers from substantially reducing their harm by switching to e-cigarettes.

“It may also encourage some young people who use e-cigarettes to take up smoking for the first time, if they believe the harms are comparable.

“Better communication about the health risks is needed so that adults who smoke can make informed choices about the nicotine products they use.”

Director of the smokers' organization Forest, Simon Clark, continued:

“Government is partly to blame for the confusion because banning disposable vapes and threatening to severely restrict the display and packaging of e-cigarettes is hardly the best way to promote a reduced risk product that has helped millions of smokers to quit.

“Furthermore, is it any wonder that smokers are confused about the perceived risk of vaping when the message coming from government and the public health industry is that the only people who should vape are adults who want to quit smoking, and no-one should vape long-term or recreationally.”

Although the research didn't explore the reasons behind these shifts in the public's opinion, Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health, thinks "scare stories" may be to blame.

The rising concern and misperception among adults who smoke that vaping is more or equally harmful than smoking may be attributed, in particular, to youth and underage vaping.

According to Deborah Arnott:

“The tragedy is that as a result many smokers may carry on smoking when they could have quit, continuing to put themselves at serious risk of cancers, respiratory and heart disease, followed by premature death.”

Additionally from University College London, Professor Jamie Brown stated:

“E-cigarettes are novel and so have attracted much attention in the media, with news articles often overstating their risks to health compared with smoking.

“There is relatively little reporting about deaths caused by smoking, even though 75,000 people die as a result of it in England each year.

“The government plans to offer one million smokers a free vaping starter kit alongside behavioral support to help them quit.

“This initiative may be undermined if many smokers are unwilling to try e-cigarettes because they wrongly believe them to be just as harmful as cigarettes or more so.”