Andrej Kuttruf, CEO of Evapo and member of UKVIA, spoke up for vaping on The Daily Mail’s podcast The Daily Show, answering questions on teen vaping and why vaping gets such a negative media narrative.
On underage vaping
The host, Andrew Pierce, brings up concerns from the Chief Medical Officer that more young people are experimenting with e-cigarettes. In response, Mr Kuttruf highlights the statistics for teens who vape regularly;
"We are very concerned about teen vaping, no one wants to see teen vaping, so as an industry we are taking that very seriously. If you look at the statistics for regular use among teenagers, we are in the fortunate position that this is very minimal, below 2%, and on the other hand teen smoking is at is at an all time low, which is something, we can really be proud of."
He also explains that vape stores do not sell to anyone under 18, and Evapo strictly adheres to the ‘challenge 25’ initiative, which requires any customers that staff members consider to look under the age of 25 to show ID before being served.
Research has found that regular e-cigarette by young people use in the UK remains consistently low, and the majority of the young people who do regularly use an e-cigarette were previously smokers. The statistic that host Andrew Pierce quotes, that 16% of young people have tried an e-cigarette, describes those who have tried it even just once or twice, which say is not surprising, as with anything, if you tell teenagers they can’t do something, some are going to try it anyway.
On vaping safety
The host moves on to ask about the safety of vaping and why vaping is still seen somewhat negatively in the media, despite health authorities like Public Health England and the NHS endorsing e-cigarettes as a safer alternative to smoking.
Kuttruff explains that sometimes the distinction between smoking and vaping is not made;
"I think there is still a bit of a knee-jerk reaction when it comes to nicotine. Many people associate nicotine with smoking, which is the deadliest habit people can have. But nicotine on its own is similar to caffeine, it is addictive but it does not cause cancer."
While e-liquids can contain nicotine, they do not contain the numerous other toxic substances that are released upon the combustion of tobacco cigarettes, such as carbon monoxide and tar.
When asked about the long-term effects of e-cigarette use, Andrej Kuttruff stated;
"Vaping has now been around for more than 10 years and there are 40 million vapers worldwide, and there is not one reported death from a nicotine related product."
It was fantastic to hear the vaping industry get a chance to rebut some of the media myths about e-cigarette use and stand up for vaping.
