PRO FILIP LARDON’S POINT
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Lindsay Fox (Wikimedia Commons)
By targeting young people, the vaping industry is digging its own grave, says author and Oncology professor Filip Lardon. Stricter rules seem to be the future, but ‘the industry is already being creative with the production of back gate keys.’
The Prof’s Point
The Prof’s Point is an opinion of a researcher on a social theme based on a scientific background. Are you or do you know a researcher with a strong opinion? Send an email to [email protected].
To say that smoking is harmful to your health is to kick in a wide open door. Tobacco has positioned itself as the most lethal legal product on the market for more than a hundred years. It causes two premature deaths every hour, in our country alone.
In the meantime, we as cancer specialists are sweeping away with the tap open. This becomes clear again and again when we have to communicate dramatic diagnoses of lung cancer to smokers on a daily basis. Yet all the terrifying consequences cannot convince the smoker to quit; one in five people continues the deadly habit. Nicotine is one of the three most addictive drugs in the world.
All on vape?
If you assume that nicotine should remain freely available for sale, you may also wonder whether there are less lethal alternatives to administer nicotine. And yes, there are. One of those options is the e-cigarette or vape. It is now clear that although the vape remains unhealthy, it is less harmful than the tobacco cigarette.
For them, young addiction is a revenue model for life
Everyone on the vape then? For smokers, the advice may be ‘yes’, but only if the smoker cannot quit in any other way, because a complete smoking cessation clearly remains the most preferable option. Phew, the world will hopefully become a little less deadly thanks to the vape. Long live the vape!
But then the teenagers came. They looked with sparkling eyes at what appeared on the forbidden market. A hip version of the iconic cigarette, perfect to take with you (and hide) in your trouser or pen pocket. The vape and tobacco industry looked back at the teenagers with enamored eyes and spiced up their vapes with desirable shapes, fairytale colors and literally a thousand and one tempting flavors.
Strawberry flavor
And it works. The vape is increasingly becoming a hip gadget for student youth. Teachers and administrators from various schools (even primary schools) keep confirming to me the worryingly increasing number of students with their heads in the clouds.
In Australia, the vape was permanently banished to the pharmacy
It gets even worse when it turns out that young people use disposable vapes (usually bought at the night shop or newsagent or online), containing nicotine. Yes, nicotine, which is one of the three most addictive drugs in the world. However, it is now packaged in a pastel-colored box with a blushing strawberry on it. This makes nicotine very irresistible.
Unknowingly and completely freed from any discomfort by the strawberry, our young people and even children become addicted. While nicotine has a harmful effect on brain development, especially in the younger brain. But for the vape and tobacco industry, it is sustainable customer loyalty that counts, it is a true business model. For them, young addiction is a revenue model for life.
Own grave
The teenagers fall into the trap of smoke-free alternatives. But there’s a side effect that the vape and tobacco industries didn’t take into account. Parents, schools and health experts are increasingly sounding the alarm, which means that less harmful, smoke-free products such as vapes are in danger of being much more severely restricted. In Australia, the vape was even permanently banned from pharmacies.
And so the vape and tobacco industry, with its blind infatuation with teenagers, is digging its own grave, which now threatens to become a disappointment for themselves and for adult smokers who want to quit with the help of the vape. The unfortunate fall of smoke-free alternatives.
But on the other hand, I have no doubt that the vape and tobacco industry is already creatively creating backdoor keys to free the vape again, or to put it back in the Garden of Eden in a different guise. We are still far away from a smoke-free generation and that is literally a shame.
Filip Lardon’s new book Two deaths per hour. Everything you need to know about (quitting) smoking and vaping was published by Uitgeverij Borgerhoff and Lamberigts.
He is dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and head of the Center for Oncological Research at the University of Antwerp.
Right, so this Filip Lardon fella, he’s got a point, hasn’t he? A bit like finding out your accountant is also a serial arsonist…you kind of want to trust him, but then again…fire.
This whole vape thing, it’s a mess, isn’t it? Started off with good intentions, you know, "Let’s give smokers a healthier way out of that tobacco mess." Except, wouldn’t you know it, the clever clogs in the vape and tobacco industry saw an even bigger market: kids. Teenagers, those easily-led, hormone-addled mini-adults, they’re like moths to a brightly coloured, strawberry-flavoured flame.
And they’re not just being tempted, they’re being actively targeted! Flavours like "Unicorn Sparkle Blast" and "Unicorn Vomit"…those aren’t for your Aunt Mildred, are they? No, that’s pure, unadulterated, devil-may-care marketing aimed straight at the playground.
It’s like giving a toddler a pint of Guinness and calling it "Choccy Milk." Sure, it might taste nice, but the consequences are catching up to you faster than Facebook shares after a celeb divorce announcement.
And Lardon’s right, Be nice to teenagers.
Lardon’s bang on about this business model, yeah? Hook ’em young, keep ’em hooked. It’s like that dodgy car salesman who sells you a lemon but throws in a free air freshener…you might smell nice, but you’re still stuck with a bloody lemon!
Now, they’re facing a bit of a backlash, aren’t they? Parents are freaking out, schools are cracking down, and even Australia, the land of deadly spiders and unfairly winning cricket matches, has decided to ban vapes outright.
So, what’s our vaping friends going to do? Well, knowing them, they’ll probably come up with some sneaky new way to get their nicotine fix to teens. You know, like those disposable vapes you can buy at your local corner shop…convenient, colourful, and as addictive as crack cocaine disguised as candy.
It’s all very depressing, really. We’re supposed to be moving towards a healthier, smoke-free future, and instead, we’ve got these greedy pharmaceutical companies playing us like a fiddle.
But hey, maybe there’s a glimmer of hope, eh? Maybe this Lardon fella’s book will wake a few people up, make them see what’s really going on. Maybe we can teach these corporations that targeting children is not cool, man, not cool at all.
In the meantime, maybe just stick to…well, anything but strawberries with a vape attached.
What measures can be taken to regulate the vaping industry and protect young people from its harmful effects?
## Interview with Professor Filip Lardon on Vaping and Young People
**Interviewer:** Professor Lardon, thank you for joining us today. Your recent article on vaping has sparked quite a dialog. You’ve been very vocal about the vaping industry’s targeting of young people. Can you elaborate on that?
**Professor Lardon:** Absolutely. Initially, e-cigarettes or vapes were seen as a potentially less harmful alternative for adult smokers trying to quit. While that may hold some truth, the industry has unfortunately shifted gears. They’ve realised a lucrative market exists in enticing youngsters with flamboyant flavours and stylish designs.
**Interviewer:** It does seem like a cynical tactic. We’re talking about bubblegum, candy, even ‘unicorn vomit’ flavours. What impact does that have?
**Professor Lardon:** It’s incredibly effective, sadly. Teenagers are drawn to these enticing flavors, essentially masking the nicotine within. Nicotine, of course, is highly addictive, particularly for developing brains. This creates a whole new generation of nicotine addicts and jeopardizes any potential gains made in reducing smoking rates.
**Interviewer:** So your fear is that these young people will become lifelong users of these products, possibly even transitioning to traditional cigarettes?
**Professor Lardon:** Precisely. Even though vapes may be less harmful than cigarettes, they are not harmless. They contain harmful chemicals, and the long-term effects are still being studied. The industry is essentially trading one addiction for another, while simultaneously undermining years of public health efforts.
**Interviewer:** What can be done to address this situation?
**Professor Lardon:** Increased regulation is crucial. We need tighter restrictions on flavourings, advertising aimed at youth, and even access to vapes. Countries like Australia are taking bold steps, permanently removing vapes from convenience stores and pharmacies.
**Interviewer:** The vaping industry touts itself as offering a harm-reduction approach. What’s your response to that?
**Professor Lardon:** While a harm-reduction strategy can be valuable for adult smokers trying to quit, it’s being twisted by the industry. They’re prioritizing profit over public health and using young people as pawns. This backward approach ultimately undermines the whole concept of harm reduction.
**Interviewer:** Professor Lardon, thank you for sharing your expertise and raising these important concerns.
