🧵1/9
Everyone agrees young people should not #vape or smoke
However, the current fear and panic about youth vaping is not based on the evidence, according to our paper published today in @ijdrugpolicy
Co-author Prof Wayne Hall

colinmendelsohn.com.au/youth/ 🧵2/9
In adolescents who have never smoked most #vaping is occasional and short-term
Frequent vaping in this group is uncommon: 1-2% in most international surveys eg England ⤵️

🧵1/4
41 leading tobacco control and addiction experts from Australia and NZ have written an open letter to Health Minister @Mark_Butler_MP asking him to reconsider the proposal to further restrict access to nicotine #vaping
colinmendelsohn.com.au/butler-4/ 🧵2/4
Their concern is that
“this approach will have serious and harmful unintended consequences for public health, will slow the decline in smoking and will ultimately be unsuccessful”

WARNING. AUSTRALIAN nicotine is extremely toxic!

According to @TGAgovau's latest advice

'Nicotine is a poisonous substance'
'There are significant health risks associated with nicotine use

We should get the safe nicotine that other countries use...

1/6
tga.gov.au/nicotine-vapin… UK Royal College of Physicians

‘Use of nicotine alone, in the doses used by smokers, represents little if any hazard to the user’

2/6
rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outpu…

Appalling journalism @dailytelegraph

'Vape Craze, A Real Drag' 11 June 2021

Gross misinformation from 2 anti-vaping activists. No pro-vaping expert consulted to challenge or correct

No response to my letter to editor to fix it, so here are my corrections

Pls share

Thread...

Good to see some balance in this article with some commonsense from @AlexWodak

However still some serious misinformation
FYI @janehansen2000

https://twitter.com/janehansen2000/status/1403548143543746562

1. #vaping is not a Big Tobacco plot

-BT did not invent vaping
-Vapes are a direct competitor to cigarettes and are a huge disruptive threat to the industry
-BT is mostly focussed on #HTPs
-If BT switches from #cigs to #ecigs, that is good for public health. vaping is 95% safer

1/There is so much wrong with this article

▪️Only anti-vaping views quoted
▪️Extensive misinformation not challenged
▪️No alternative views offered

Can I have a right of reply @Dana_Adele

Thread...
smh.com.au/politics/feder… 2/ nicotine is highly addictive

The addictiveness of nicotine depends on how it is delivered. Smoking is highly addictive due to rapid nicotine delivery and other chemicals in smoke. Vaping is significantly less addictive than smoking

1/4 BULLSHIT ALERT

@SarahWhisar from @quitvic says the claim that vaping is 95% safer than smoking is a guesstimate from a workshop

FACT
It is based on comprehensive, peer-reviewed reviews of the scientific evidence by @RCPLondon and @PHE_uk
bit.ly/30NQ0PO 2/4 "95% safer" is a realistic evidence-based estimate to guide the public on the relative risk of vaping compared to smoking

Research shows switching
▪️dramatically reduces toxins
▪️greatly reduces toxic biomarkers of exposure
▪️improves health

athra.org.au/blog/2019/12/2…

1/ @SimonChapman6 was on @abccanberra this morning with @adammshirley creating fear and confusion about #vaping. Let me clarify a few points.

Starts 17m20s
abc.net.au/radio/canberra… 2/ "We don’t know what the long-term consequences are going to be”

It is beyond reasonable doubt that #vaping will be far less risky than smoking. @RCPLondon estimates that the long-term risk is likely to be no more than 5% of the risk of smoking

1/ Well, this is embarrassing!

Anti #vaping groups congratulate themselves aon the #nicotine import ban, THE DAY BEFORE it was reversed

Numerous factual errors need correction

@tobaccofreeaust @CancerCouncilOz @heartfoundation @_PHAA_

bit.ly/2ZeC1lb 2/ "tobacco industry application to relax poison controls and greenlight the sale of novelty tobacco products being heavily promoted to young people in the US"

NO. This is for heated tobacco products NOT #vaping. #HTPs have been approved by the FDA.
Please learn the difference

1/5
@SimonChapman6 and @AlexWodak were interviewed on #vaping on @abcadelaide this afternoon

Certain misinformation provided during the interview needs to be corrected

abc.net.au/radio/adelaide… 2/5
'The 95% safer figure is a factoid based on opinion'

WRONG. This is based on comprehensive reviews by @RCPLondon and @PHE_uk. It is consistent with the substantial reduction in toxins, the reduced biomarkers and improved health in smokers who switch
athra.org.au/blog/2019/12/2…

@SarahWhisar says about #vaping 'The 95% factoid was a consensus OPINION reached by a small panel, some of whom had conflicts of interest - it is not at all evidence-based'

My response in the thread below 1/8 With respect Sarah, that is a misleading response which omits the full story. The 95% figure was first developed by leading experts based on the best available evidence at the time in a validated MCDA process. @ProfDavidNutt replied to the criticism
bit.ly/32dPV76

Big Tobacco has been dishonest, but the solution is not to ban #ecigs. Response to Canberra Times editorial. bit.ly/2uGxJX0 Thanks. It's a slow process but I think the momentum is shifting