Public Health England: Confused Perceptions Of Electric Cigarettes, Raising Public Anxiety

JAKARTA - In the midst of the corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic, information is often passed on without providing clear context or accuracy. Misinformation and perceptions can create public unrest, starting from the issue of the spread, the economic situation, including information about e-cigarettes and other alternative tobacco products that are linked to COVID-19.

Even though e-cigarettes are considered to have helped many adult smokers as a better alternative to getting nicotine intake.

In a recent report on e-cigarettes released by Public Health England (PHE), a government agency under the UK's Department of Health and Social Care, said the growing misperception in society about the dangers of e-cigarettes can deter adult smokers who can't quit smoking. to switch to alternative tobacco products.

In fact, PHE said, switching to alternative tobacco products such as e-cigarettes is an effective way to help adult smokers quit smoking.

Since 2015, PHE has been actively researching alternative tobacco products and updating reports every year. In its sixth report released in March 2020, PHE said there was an increase in the number of smokers who believed that e-cigarettes were more dangerous than cigarettes.

According to PHE, this is not in accordance with the study of experts from the UK and the United States and several other countries who concluded that the use of e-cigarettes is much lower in danger than cigarettes.

According to PHE, alternative tobacco products such as e-cigarettes are not completely risk free, but are much lower risk than cigarettes, up to 95 percent. This is because alternative tobacco products do not go through the combustion process, so that they produce significantly lower levels of harmful chemicals than cigarettes.

PHE said the perception that e-cigarettes are more dangerous than cigarettes spread among adult smokers in the UK after the rampant lung injury cases in the United States last year.

In fact, the United States Government through the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has confirmed that vitamin E acetate added to e-cigarette liquid containing marijuana is the main cause of lung injury cases in the United States. According to the PHE, the substance has been banned from use in e-cigarettes in the UK.

PHE assessed that continuous monitoring of public perceptions is necessary. Researchers fear that this misperception could create public unrest and hinder the desire for adult smokers who can't quit smoking to switch to better alternative tobacco products.

PHE emphasized that adult smokers who cannot quit smoking should continue to be encouraged to switch to alternative tobacco products or other smoking cessation aids. This will increase their chances of quitting smoking and the result is already visible in the reduction in the number of smokers in the UK.

In addition to research, the UK is progressively regulating these products in a different way to cigarettes, and imposing lower excise burdens as a form of support for alternative tobacco products.

Toxicologist from Airlangga University Sho'im Hidayat agrees, there are many wrong perceptions about alternative tobacco products which are considered as dangerous as cigarettes because they both contain nicotine. In fact, nicotine is not the main trigger for smoking-related diseases.

Sho'im explained that the dangerous chemical content in cigarettes is TAR which is a carcinogen. TAR produced by the burning process in cigarettes can trigger dangerous diseases.

"The higher the TAR level from burning, the greater the risk of developing cancer or heart disease, this content is not present in alternative tobacco products," said Sho'im, in his statement, Thursday, April 16.

According to Sho'im, alternative tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, are a solution for adult smokers who find it difficult to quit smoking to switch to tobacco products with a lower risk of harm.

Unlike the UK, in Indonesia alternative tobacco products that are included in the category of Other Tobacco Processing Products (HPTL) are subject to the highest excise rate of 57 percent. This is certainly not in accordance with the health risk profile, and can also lead to wrong perceptions in the community.

That is why, in the midst of increasing public unrest due to uncertain information, everyone must be wise in sorting out information. Apart from that, the government and researchers are also responsible for presenting accurate and reliable information and policies as a reference for the public.