Dimitris Agrafiotis

Guest columnist

Dimitris Agrafiotis serves as executive director of the Tennessee Smoke Free Association.

Hundreds of Tennesseans who visit our independently-owned shops have shared stories about how vape products helped them reduce or eliminate smoking altogether.

One of our member shops has a wall of customers’ last pack of cigarettes, signed and dated. A former smoker myself, I found freedom through vaping when other quit methods failed. So it’s no surprise, with such compelling stories, that vaping has grown in popularity with adult smokers.

A randomized study published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine, a premier medical research publication in the U.S., confirmed what we were hearing on the ground for years.

The study sought to answer the question of whether e-cigarettes help smokers quit. The answer is yes.

Fear and misinformation still grips America

The study found e-cigarettes were twice as effective as other nicotine replacement products like gums or patches in helping adult smokers quit when supported by behavior therapy. While this is big news in the U.S., public health professionals in England, where the study was conducted, already recommend e-cigarettes as effective tobacco harm reduction.

A study by the United Kingdom’s public health agency, Public Health England, showed vaping — or e-cigarette usage — is 95 percent less harmful than smoking. The agency has launched public awareness campaigns to encourage adults to make the switch.

John Newton, director for health improvement at PHE, said, ”It would be tragic if thousands of smokers who could quit with the help of an e-cigarette are being put off due to false fears about their safety.”

While we are glad to see this work finally getting more attention stateside, we need to do better as a country in providing all the facts about vaping to the public. The primary American narrative, set in the media and by certain groups, continues to be one of fear and misinformation.

The Tennessee Smoke Free Association’s 100 independent shops are dedicated to changing that. We are focused on ensuring adult smokers have access to vape products as a way to reduce tobacco use and harm. Many adults are even able to wean themselves off nicotine completely by steadily decreasing nicotine levels in the vapor.

Most smokers want to quit; don't make it harder to do so

There are still those opponents who believe vape products should be regulated out of availability or so restricted that customers lose the ability to customize products to their preference.

Already this year, there are several bills proposed at the state and federal level to restrict access to vape products. There is a push to increase the purchase age of vape products, even though traditional cigarettes, which are the leading cause of preventable death in the country and kill about 580,000 people year, remain legal for 18-year-olds.

Seven out of 10 smokers say they want to quit. That’s a huge opportunity to improve public health. But it can take as many as 30 tries to quit smoking for good, and many give up before they succeed.

This is a clear indication that the available traditional cessation methods on the market are not sufficient for all adult smokers. The vaping industry grew because it filled a real need for adult smokers looking for an alternative.

We’ve heard the success stories for years. Now the body of independent, credible scientific evidence is growing in support of vaping as tobacco harm reduction. It’s time for our laws to reflect the reality that these products are helping Tennesseans right now. Let’s ensure they continue to be available.

Dimitris Agrafiotis serves as executive director of the Tennessee Smoke Free Association, a consumer advocacy and trade organization focused on Tobacco Harm Reduction through the use of vapor products (electronic cigarettes). Find him on Twitter as @VapinGreek.