More than one in 10 (11.3%) of urban adults have tried e-cigarettes and 4% are regular users, according to a new study released by University of Cape Town (UCT) on Tuesday.
Its publication comes as MPs are poised to begin work on the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, which proposes tightening current antismoking laws and for the first time regulating e-cigarettes.
The department of health is due to brief parliament’s portfolio committee on health on the bill on Wednesday, the first step in processing what is expected to be a highly contested piece of legislation.
The SA e-cigarette survey, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, included telephonic interviews with 21,263 respondents between January and September 2022 and was designed to be nationally representative of urban adults.
It found regular e-cigarette use was significantly higher among younger age groups, ranging from 7.7% of 18 to 24-year-olds to 6.8% of 25 to 35-year-olds, compared to 3.7% among respondents aged between 35 and 44 years and just 1.5% among those older than 65. The prevalence of vaping was considerably higher among men (5.4%) than among women (2.6%)
“Reports commissioned by the e-cigarette industry misrepresented the potential impact of restricting e-cigarette advertisements and promotions, primarily by significantly underestimating the prevalence of e-cigarette use in SA. [This survey] addresses this problem by providing accurate data on e-cigarette use and prevalence,” said Kirsten van der Zee, research officer at UCT’s Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products.
The survey found that one in five (19%) of the people who regularly vaped before regularly smoking cigarettes were “on-rampers” who were still smoking. One in eight (13%) of the people who started vaping after regularly smoking cigarettes were “off-rampers” who had since quit cigarettes.
The results suggest that the arguments that e-cigarettes are a gateway to regular smoking or a means to quit regular smoking are nuanced, and further research is needed to explore why users start or quit smoking, said Van der Zee.
The survey found people who used both e-cigarettes and smoked combustible cigarettes believed e-cigarettes were less addictive than combustible cigarettes, and that the products had similar health risks.
Earlier in the day, the National Council Against Smoking (NCAS) released new data from an ongoing study of the use of tobacco and related products in SA, which found only 27% of young adults who vape said they started using the products to try to kick a smoking habit.
These findings directly challenge the vaping industry’s argument that e-cigarettes are a vital aid for smokers who want to quit, as almost three-quarters of the young people who vape have taken up the habit for other reasons, said NCAS executive director Lekan Ayo-Yusuf.
An online survey of more than 6,000 people in 2021 included 800 e-cigarette users who reported spending R250 a month on average on these products, said Ayo-Yusuf.
The reasons given by adults between 18 and 25 years old for vaping stand in direct contrast to those cited by older users, 75% of whom said they started using e-cigarettes to try to quit smoking, he said.
Sales of flavoured e-cigarettes increased “exponentially” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with fruit and candy flavours leading the way, he said, citing data from Nielsen.
Young adults who vaped spent on average R250 a month on these products, and the majority obtained the products from vape shops, he said.
The bill proposes greater restrictions on smoking in public places, introduces plain packaging and picture warnings, bans vending machine sales, prohibits point-of-sale advertising and, for the first time, regulates e-cigarettes and other new-generation products in the same way as tobacco.
It contains provisions that enable the health minister to limit or completely prohibit flavours, which public health advocates say are a tool used by the industry to attract younger customers.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.