Answer To: Making Healthy Public Policy Assignment 4: E-cigarettes: analysing a public health policy Due date:...
Tanaya answered on Aug 14 2021
ASSIGNMENT 4: E-CIGARETTES: ANALYSING A PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Public health concern related to e-cigarettes in Australia 3
The extent of usage of e-cigarette in Australia 5
Health outcomes associated with e-cigarettes and evidence 7
Stakeholders interested in the policy for e-cigarettes and range of stakeholders involved 8
The perspective of stakeholders in e-cigarettes 9
Recommendation of policy option, evidences supporting it and alternative options of policy considered 10
Conclusion 11
References 13
Introduction
The concept of e-cigarette arose with the potential of benefitting adult smokers. It was stated that the e-cigarettes substituted the regular cigarette and tobacco products, which were harmful to the body. E-cigarettes are battery-driven apparatus that came in different shapes and size that produced aerosol through the heating element that carried the liquid. The liquid contained nicotine, which was as addictive as the regular cigarettes and cigars consisting of flavouring with chemicals that created aerosols. These e-cigarettes were called in different names like Mods, e-hookahs, vape pens and vapes. The e-cigarette aerosol is utilised often consists of harmful ingredients that include nicotine, volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, and chemicals causing cancer. The current study will help in the evaluation of the potential hazards that are caused by e-cigarettes. Further, it also helps in the evaluation of the policies that are operated in controlling the risks of e-cigarettes and the involved stakeholders in controlling the negative impacts of the e-cigarette.
Public health concern related to e-cigarettes in Australia
According to McNeill, Brose, Calder, Bauld and Robson, the liquid substance that is used in the e-cigarettes are aerosols that have been produced from formaldehyde, acrolein and acetaldehyde that are known for causing cancer. These aerosols, which are created by the e-cigarettes lead to DNA damage. Although as mentioned by Links, e-cigarettes do not cause cancer similar to conventional cigarettes forming tar in the lungs; however, evidence shows most of the teenagers and young adults are now not only addicted to a cigarette but also have developed an addiction towards fumes of e-cigarettes that have a higher toxicant level that tobacco [9].
Figure 1: The use of e-cigarettes in the coming years
(Source: Who.int. 2020)
Figure 2: Smoking Rates in the UK, US and Australia
(Source: Ayers, Ribisl, Brownstein)
One of the greatest challenges in building prevention or protection against the e-cigarette was is a huge promotion for the cessation of smoking was done using e-cigarette use. As stated by Ayers, Ribisl, Brownstein, not only in Australia, there had been an amplification in the controversy among the population of United States, but also there had been considerable threat amongst the youth due to e-cigarettes. Although initially, Australia and the United States had opposite poles policies related to the combustible cigarettes; however, with the outbreak of different kinds of health hazard resulted in the change in the policies [2].
In Australia, within a few years of the use of e-cigarettes, a jump in the health hazards similar to the cigarettes smoking was observed in the population. This pushed Australia in adopting a prohibitionist policy on the use of e-cigarettes by the population. Similarly, in the United Kingdom, there grew mounting evidence that the potential benefits of e-cigarettes that have been claimed by the marketers were much less compared to the hazards that were caused due to smoking [5]. Further, with the increase in the hazards, there had been an increase in antagonism against the e-cigarettes with the outbreak of a large number of cases of lung injuries. According to the CDC, by the year 2019, there had been several life-threatening cases highlighted by the incidence of vaping-related pulmonary diseases.
By 2020 January there are 2668 lung disease cases including 60 cases of death. In addition, there is a growing concern on the use of nicotine and e-cigarettes among the young population in between the age 18 to 24 years. This has also increased the number of hospitalisation as well as fatalities. As mentioned by the US Food and Drug Administration, these e-cigarettes have vapour products, which consist of tetrahydrocannabinol, which is a psychoactive ingredient, produced from cannabis [7]. By August 2020, there was an alarming rate of the population had been admitted to hospital in the different parts of the world with lung problem due to the use of e-cigarettes [3].
As reported by ( ), in the US there were still several marketers who have been promoting flavoured e-cigarettes which have further encouraged more number of the younger population opting for e-cigarettes that needed restrictive policies to control the sale of the e-cigarettes[6]. In Australia, the government had taken a precautionary approach where based on the US outbreaks of respiratory conditions were cited to the population to increase the awareness of the use of hazards associated with e-cigarettes. Some of the symptoms, which were also observed among the Australian population using e-cigarettes, include chest pain, cough and shortness of breath.
The extent of usage of e-cigarette in Australia
According to the survey that has been carried out by NSW researchers consisting of former smokers and the current smokers who have been using e-cigarettes believed that smoking e-cigarettes were safer compared to tobacco cigarettes while they were trying to quit smoking. According to the analysis carried out by the International Tobacco Control (ITC), due to the lack of stringent rules against the e-cigarettes, the number of smoker of e-cigarettes has increased. Around 37.4% of the Australian population were observed to smoke at home with 60.4% using e-cigarettes [7].
Figure 3: Harm minimisation and Tobacco control
(Source: Csiro.au)
According to the reports of ITC it was observed that the even though there were short term improvements of health observed in e-cigarette smokers and had the capability of mimicking the smoking behaviours, a smaller number of populations could actually succeed in quitting smoking [11]. Even among the adolescents, it was observed that the e-cigarettes were perceived to be less harmful compared to conventional cigarettes as well as less addictive [8]. Trend study shows that a large number of populations, especially the adolescent, have started using e-cigarettes because of the variety of flavours that are available which have further encouraged the use of e-cigarettes. Survey shows that 11% of the Australian population above the age of 14 years used e-cigarettes by then of 2019. At the same time, 26.1% of the adults in Australia have been a lifetime use if e-cigarettes were in between the age of 18 to 24 years [14].
As observed by Etter, although...