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Vaping damages young people’s lungs as much as smoking, study suggests
The study, which has not yet been peer reviewed nor published, compared vapers and smokers in a strenuous exercise test and found both groups emerged as being less fit and much more out of breath than people who have neither habit.
Dr Azmy Faisal and colleagues at Manchester Metropolitan University asked 60 people in their 20s to have their lung capacity recorded by spending time on a static exercise bike. Twenty were non-smokers, 20 others had vaped for at least two years and the other 20 had smoked for at least two years.
The vapers had an average “peak exercise capacity”, which, at 186 watts, was similar to that of the smokers (182 watts) but much lower than that among the non-smokers or vapers (226 watts). The test measures the maximum amount of physical exercise that someone can achieve.
In addition, the vapers and smokers were less able to take in oxygen – at 2.7 litres and 2.6 litres a minute, respectively – than those who neither smoked nor vaped (3 litres).
The proportion of adults in Britain using vapes has climbed steadily over recent years, from 4.2% in 2014 to 11%, with many smokers using them as a way of kicking that habit. But the proportion of 11 to 17-year-olds vaping has risen much more sharply over the same period, from 1.3% to 7.6%.
Dr Filippos Filippidis is Chair of the European Respiratory Society Tobacco Control Committee, a reader in public health at Imperial College London and was not involved in the research. He said: “Vapes are being sold cheaply and in a variety of flavours to appeal to young people. As a result, we’re seeing more and more young people take up the habit without knowing what the long-term consequences could be to their health.
“Although it’s always a challenge to know if the associations we find in these studies are causal or a result of some other systematic differences between groups, people who vape need to be aware that using these products could make them less fit and able to take part in exercise. Doctors and policymakers also need to know about the risks of vaping, and we should be doing all we can to support children and young people to avoid or quit vaping.”
The government has vowed to use its tobacco and vapes bill to crack down on the “irresponsible” marketing of vapes to children as well as progressively outlawing smoking.
Source: The Guardian, 8 September 2024
See also: European Respiratory Society - Young vapers perform worse in exercise testing | Science Media Centre - Expert reaction to unpublished conference abstract on vaping, smoking and exercise
Editorial Note: The unpublished study by Dr Faisal, which has not yet undergone peer review, has been critically analysed by leading experts in the Science Media Centre, available here. Rachel Richardson, Manager at the Methods Support Unit at Cochrane, analysed the available information and argues that although the study shows an association between vaping and reduced exercise performance, the study does not prove a causal relationship. Richardson argues that other factors may have caused the reduced performance in the vaping sample group. A similar conclusion was drawn by Professor Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics at The Open University, who states that the findings are hard to analyse given the little detail released and that the observational study does not show a clear causal connection between vaping and reduced lung health.
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NHS review will urge Labour to spend billions on buildings
Lord Darzi of Denham, a surgeon and former Labour health minister, will publish a wide-ranging report on Thursday laying out the problems facing the NHS as ministers seek to blame the Conservatives and prepare a ten-year blueprint for reform.
Sir Keir Starmer said Darzi’s “raw and honest assessment” showed the NHS was “broken but not beaten” and pledged to use the review as a platform for an overhaul of the health service.
Darzi will point to evidence that 50 years of progress on heart disease is going into reverse, as heart attack patients wait longer and care standards vary dramatically among hospitals.
The Times understands his report will also point out that Britain has historically spent far less on medical buildings and equipment than other countries, in a challenge to the Treasury to find billions of pounds of extra funding.
He is expected to say that the NHS is “undercapitalised” compared with other health systems and that this has contributed to inefficiency, as well as criticising variation in performance and a fall in productivity.
Analysis by the NHS Confederation has found that since 2010 the NHS has spent between £3 billion to £4 billion a year less on infrastructure than other western European countries, with a cumulative cap of £33 billion in the years before the pandemic.
The NHS also has a £10 billion maintenance backlog, and fewer hospital beds and scanners per head than other countries.
Capital budgets need to double to £14 billion a year, the NHS Confederation said. However, another £800 million is likely to be taken from NHS capital funds in the budget, as the Treasury demands savings to cover a winter bailout and fill a “black hole” in the books.
Although Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has accepted that cuts are likely this winter, he is expected to use the review to urge Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, to provide a boost to NHS infrastructure in next year’s spending review.
Source: The Times, 9 September 2024
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Opinion: The pub garden smoking ban is a drag on our freedoms
Writing in the Observer, actor, writer and comedian, David Mitchell critiques the Labour Party's proposed ban on smoking in pub gardens, viewing it as an overreach of government authority that infringes on personal freedom under the justification of reducing NHS costs. Mitchell argues that while public health is important and the previous ban was successful, such legal restrictions on personal behaviour set a concerning precedent.
Mitchell draws a comparison between Margaret Thatcher’s “insincere” pledge to bring harmony and Keir Starmer’s own promise to "tread lightly" on people's lives, highlighting the inconsistency between political promises and actions. Mitchell suggests that, like Thatcher's appeal, Starmer's preventative health model might mask more intrusive governance, contradicting his earlier commitment to avoid heavy-handed intervention.
Mitchell is concerned that regulating unhealthy behaviours, like banning smoking outdoors, could pave the way for further restrictions on various personal freedoms, such as consuming fatty foods, engaging in contact sports, or pursuing stressful jobs—activities that also impact the NHS. By demonizing smoking to the extent of proposing significant legal barriers, Mitchell argues that the government could begin to curtail individual liberties on a broader scale, using public health costs as justification. This, Mitchell suggests, risks reducing the welfare state's affordability to a matter of compelled prudence rather than voluntary choice, potentially echoing the lack of freedom that was once feared in more authoritarian regimes.
Mitchell concludes by saying that he does not believe Starmer’s preventative model of government will be similar to authoritarian regimes, given that smoking is no longer considered by many to be in the same category as other freedoms. Mitchell does, however, believe it is an unnecessary infringement on individual liberty.
Source: The Guardian, 8 September 2024
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Radio 4 AntiSocial: Outdoor smoking ban
Is banning smoking outdoors good for our health or state overreach?
The Prime Minister has confirmed he's thinking about extending the indoor smoking ban to include outdoor areas, restaurant terraces and pub gardens. This, in addition, to plans to progressively increase the age at which you can buy cigarettes so a whole generation never even starts smoking.
It's sparked a social media discussion on personal freedom, the nanny state and the removal of civil liberties. But others argued that it would improve health, help the NHS and de-normalise smoking.
Adam Fleming asks what does this reaction tell us about attitudes to public health, the collective wellness of a nation and the role of the individual within it?
GUESTS
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Deborah Arnott Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
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Chris Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs
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Dr Tessa Langley, health economist specialising in the field of tobacco control, University of Nottingham
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Professor Virginia Berridge, Professor of History and Health Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
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Professor George Davey Smith, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, Bristol Medical School
Source: BBC Sounds, 6 September 2024
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Illegal vapes and tobacco worth £10k seized in Devon
The local authority and Devon and Cornwall Police discovered the items at two stores in Exmouth with the help of detection dogs.
In total, 444 illegal vapes with an estimated value of £8,000, 417 packets of illicit cigarettes with an estimated value of £2,085 and 107 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco worth almost £1,000 were confiscated.
It puts the total value of illegal tobacco products seized by Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service so far in 2024 to almost £150,000.
Source: BBC News, 6 September 2024
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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