E-cigarette regulation is a smoking gun

Unregulated without the need to prove one’s age to a shop assistant, cigarette vending machines are a threat to public health within Spain whilst simultaneously highlighting the neglectful attitude of international policy makers towards cigarette regulation.

It seems bizarre that we live in a world where a child could buy a pack of cigarettes from a vending machine within a bar or restaurant for the mere price of five euros. Having lived in Spain for a year, this was a culture shock that I did not expect from a country with a developed national health system. This example alone acts as evidence of how cigarette regulation is being overlooked by our policymakers.

The changing narrative about cigarettes

This last decade has seen a shift in narrative with policymakers and media outlets promoting the necessity for e-cigarette regulation whilst almost completely disregarding the topic of regular cigarettes.

Towards the end of 2023, the WHO issued a call to action stating that there needs to be increased taxation and prohibition of e-cigarette sale. A couple months earlier, Netflix released their ‘Big Vape,’ documentary detailing the dangers of vaping whilst highlighting Juul’s similarities with Marlboro which ended up buying a 35% stake in the Juul worth $12.8bn. Even a quick google search into, “cigarette regulation,” shows results solely related to e-cigarettes.

Perhaps there is an increasing focus on e-cigarettes because of a perception that todays’ youth are much more likely to vape than smoke. However, the narrative needs to shift to one where both cigarettes and e-cigarettes are seen as of equal harm to public health. 

This rather ignorant perception that e-cigarettes are a bigger threat to public health ignores the fact that people are still developing COPD, heart disease, lung disease and cancer from both tobacco products and not just e-cigarettes. The media, policymakers and stakeholders are aware of this shift in narrative, but it does not mean that regular cigarettes simply do not exist anymore.

Amongst the clear disregard for cigarette regulation in favour of e-cigarette regulation, there are success stories. The United Kingdom is currently proposing to ban the sale of regular cigarettes to people born after 2009 which is set to be enforced in 2027. However, this unique example does not suggest we are closer to a concrete solution; rather that more countries need to follow the United Kingdom’s example instead of making a U-turn on their cigarette policies.

New Zealand’s new coalition government under Christopher Luxon is guilty of making this mistake having favoured tax-cuts over a similar policy to ban cigarette sale to people born after a certain age. Undoubtedly, this sets a dangerous precedent where a person’s wealth is seen as more important than their physical and mental wellbeing.

So where do we start? 

For us to truly win this war against both cigarettes and e-cigarettes, there needs to be sustained pressure against the sale of both products with academics, media outlets, health organizations and governments working symbiotically to make information about both dangers known. Neither tobacco product should be given more prevalence over the other.

Instead, they should be treated as equal dangers. Governments should display a united front when using evidence-based research to collectively increase taxation or collectively banning both products.

We are all guilty of overlooking cigarette regulation in favour of e-cigarettes. The gun is very much still smoking.