For tobacco harm reduction (THR) to fulfil its public health potential through next generation products (NGP), it’s important that everyone – including regulators, public health bodies and, perhaps most importantly, adult smokers and NGP users – understand the facts.
For instance, many people don’t realise that because NGP are intended for adult smokers and nicotine users only, so our scientific research analyses their THR potential relative to cigarette smoke rather than absolute harm.
This is a crucial point often overlooked by consumers, media outlets, and even public health bodies and regulators – and we share broader industry concerns that continuing misunderstandings and misperceptions around key topics are hampering THR’s progress.
Below we debunk some of the biggest myths.
To date, expert health organisations have concluded that nicotine, by itself, has not been established to cause cancer.
They agree the highest risks from smoking are from burning tobacco and inhaling smoke, not nicotine.
Vapes, heated systems, and tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches deliver nicotine without burning tobacco.
Find out more about nicotine here, or watch a video on this misconception.
Our products contain a warning highlighting that nicotine is poisonous. This is a regulatory requirement because, at high doses, it can be.
However, nicotine isn’t at the intended levels typically consumed by users of NGP.
Many other substances can be poisonous too, but it’s the dose that makes the poison.
Find out more about nicotine here, or watch a video on this misconception.
This isn’t true.
Around the world there are many regulations for vapes and other NGP which manufacturers need to adhere to before product launch – including nicotine limits, labelling guidelines and advertising restrictions.
Despite this, some illicit products can unfortunately still be found in markets. We rigorously test our products to demonstrate their quality and compliance with regulations, and recommend consumers purchase NGP from reputable suppliers.
Watch a video on this misconception.
Please note that in the context of this video, use of the word ‘safety’ refers specifically to product quality, and isn’t intended to imply that our NGP are risk-free (i.e. ‘safe’) from the perspective of absolute harm.
Over 10,000 scientific studies on vaping alone have been published since 2010.
This comprises both industry research – including our own – and independent academic studies.
Global knowledge about NGP is growing daily, with the overwhelming majority validating their harm reduction potential compared to smoking cigarettes.
Watch a video on this misconception.
Expert health organisations publicly agree vaping doesn’t cause so-called ‘popcorn lung’ (bronchiolitis obliterans).
This condition was first observed in popcorn workers, triggered by high levels of a specific flavouring ingredient (diacetyl) used in some factories. Diacetyl was banned in e-liquids under the EU Tobacco Products Directive in 2016. No legally compliant vapes, including our own, contain diacetyl.
Watch a video on this misconception.
Expert health organisations agree vaping doesn’t pose a risk to bystanders.
Unlike cigarettes, vapes and heated systems don’t produce ‘side-stream’ emissions, while their exhaled aerosols evaporate in seconds (cigarette smoke can linger for up to an hour).
Our research demonstrates neither blu nor PULZE & iD negatively impact indoor air quality.
Watch a video on this misconception.
Smoking is a cause of serious disease in smokers – the greatest risk comes from burning tobacco and inhaling smoke containing around 7,000 chemicals.
As NGP either don’t contain or burn tobacco, they contain and produce significantly fewer and lower levels of harmful chemicals than cigarette smoke. Although not risk free, many expert health organisations agree NGP are potentially significantly less harmful compared to cigarettes and NGP have a positive role to play in THR.
Watch a video on this misconception.
We strongly believe it’s important to offer consumers high quality, regulated products they can trust.
We have a dedicated team of highly qualified, professionally registered toxicologists who assess every ingredient in our products.
They approve all components we use and at what levels. So, we’re very confident about what we put in our products and are assured about their quality.
Watch a video on this misconception.
Current data in countries like the UK and US suggest this isn’t true.
Teen vaping rates are often recorded as ‘anyone that has taken a single puff in the past 30 days’. This means most youth vaping is infrequent and reported rates are arguably exaggerated.
Importantly, nearly all frequent vapers had previously smoked. Finally, both countries are also reporting the lowest youth smoking rates on record. As a responsible manufacturer our NGP are created for – and marketed towards – existing adult smokers and NGP users only.
Watch a video on this misconception.
Vaping and other NGP use isn’t risk-free, but the scientific evidence suggests it is likely to be significantly less risky than smoking as NGP don’t produce the thousands of chemicals generated from burning tobacco.
Most experts agree. We believe it’s crucial to offer consumers high quality, regulated products they can trust.
Unfortunately, poor quality devices, illegal nicotine levels, adulterated e-liquids, or marketing or selling NGP to unintended audiences by some irresponsible players, all have the potential to undermine THR.
Watch a video on this misconception.
We think it’s crucial to possess the skills needed to analyse emerging scientific news stories or research papers; after all, misconceptions and misinformation can undermine peoples’ faith in the harm reduction potential of NGP.
For more, read our blog for top tips our scientists use when they’re critiquing scientific studies and media stories as part of their continuing surveillance work.
Sarah Weaver
Science Academy Senior Manager
