Two renowned British scientists have pointed out the importance of e-cigarette flavours for adult smokers and vapers. This is in response to a report by the British Medical Association, which addressed the issue of flavouring bans.

Here are some quotes from the assessments in the Science Media Centre UK:

Prof Peter Hajek, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of the Health and Lifestyle Research Unit, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), said:

“Some of the regulations that this report proposes are sensible, but the call to ban vape flavours other than tobacco is misguided. The target that doctors should worry about most of all is smoking, and smokers of all ages prefer vapes with non-tobacco flavours.”

“Regulations that prevent the uptake of vaping by youth are needed. However, regulators need to make sure that concerns about very hypothetical future risks of youth vaping do not trump concerns about the very real and present risks of adult smoking.”

Prof Lion Shahab, Professor of Health Psychology and Co-Director of the UCL Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, University College London, said:

” … in order to improve population health as a whole, it is also important to acknowledge the role that e-cigarettes have played in reducing smoking prevalence in the UK, which stands at a record low.”

” … research has shown that flavours are important to adults switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes, not just to youth; and an outright flavour ban may drive up cigarette use as has been shown in the US where such bans have been implemented.”