A recent study by Yale School of Public Health, “Rates of E-cigarette and Marijuana Use Not Associated With Larger Outbreaks of Vaping-Related Lung Injuries,” found that higher levels of e-cigarette and marijuana use did not result in more cases of e-cigarette or vaping related injuries (EVALI).
In a press release, the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) stated it agreed with researchers that the study should serve as a warning to anti-vape proponents that restrictive vape regulation such as flavor bans are a danger to public health.
The study found that higher rates of e-cigarette and marijuana use resulted in fewer EVALI cases per capita, whereas areas with restricted access had a greater number of cases. Further demonstrating that as the CVA has expressed a numerous occasions, prohibition does not work.
“If e-cigarette or marijuana use per se drove this outbreak, areas with more engagement in those behaviors should show a higher EVALI prevalence,” said assistant professor Abigail Friedman, the study’s author. “This study finds the opposite result. Alongside geographic clusters of high EVALI prevalence states, these findings are more consistent with locally available e-liquids or additives driving the EVALI outbreak than a widely used, nationally-available product.”
“From the onset of the EVALI outbreak, the CVA was clear that the sudden onset of illness could not be related to regulated e-liquid products. Millions of people globally use vaping to reduce their harm from smoking and yet the cases were sudden and isolated to specific regions.,”said Darryl Tempest, executive director of the CVA. “Once the CDC confirmed the outbreak was caused by vitamin E acetate used in illicit THC products, our organization was explicit with regulators that this must serve as a warning of the dangers of the black-market. Now that research is supporting our position, we encourage regulators to review the data and regulate in the best interest of public health.”
In the release, the CVA states that regulators “must take note – flavor bans and excessive taxation create a breeding ground for unregulated products. These products adhere to no quality control standards or ingredient regulations. Moreover, their sales are not subject to inspection by tobacco enforcement or age restriction. Restrictive legislation not only harms ex-smokers by forcing them back to traditional tobacco, it often props up the black market creating public health hazards.”