Vapes and Misleading Headlines and Reports

In this article...

Misinforming and Scaremongering Vape Headlines
Illegal Vapes Sellers And The Need For Educating
Ongoing Illegal Vape Problems
Finding Good News About Vaping
My Final Say on Vaping and Media Coverage
References

Misleading headlines about vapes
Illegal vapes can have excessively high nicotine levels
Trusted public health bodies provide accurate information

Over the years, vaping has received some pretty bad press, often being associated with health issues reported to be caused by vaping. Yet, these misleading headlines fall short of being based on actual facts. So, I've decided to tackle some of these publications' claims head-on and debunk the myths.

Never one to let the truth get in the way of a provocative headline. The Daily Mail (DM) likes to reel readers in with headlines that are more often than not, a lot different than the actual content of the publication. I could easily spend this entire article picking apart the many misleading vape headlines from the Daily Mail, but there simply aren't enough hours in the day for that.

Misinforming and Scaremongering Vape Headlines

Over the past 6 months, I've encountered around 7 provocative headlines from the DM. "The sinister truth about vaping – and why habit loved by teens isn’t as safe as you may think..."[i] and "The eight ways that vaping can harm your body and even your SKIN: The disturbing risks explained"[ii], are just two of many headlines that raises misinformation alarms.

In July 2024, the DM decided to take another swipe at vaping. They took a study[iii] from Brock University, and turned it into a fear mongering headline: "Heatwave: How VAPING could put you at risk of heat exhaustion"[iv]. Now that’s scary right? Especially with some places seeing temperatures as high as 31.9 degrees[v].

Firstly, the study only involved 10 participants – all athletic men, who were given nicotine patches, not vapes! The report suggests the reason only men were chosen is due to how quickly females' bodies can breakdown nicotine. The data collected has its uses, like understanding how bodies react to nicotine in certain situations. That’s a huge leap to apply the findings to the average vaper, during a heatwave.

They also failed to distinguish between the use of nicotine patches and vaping. Nicotine patches deliver a constant dose throughout the day (or night). It’s highly unlikely that anyone would vape continuously through the night – while sleeping, before waking up and partaking in an intense cycling exercise with temperatures between 20 – 30 degrees.

I may be being cynical, but it's quite the coincidence that the Daily Mail released this article to coincide with the 2024 Paris Olympics. One could even suggest that they were desperately attempting to stay relevant, no matter how tenuous the subject matter.

The Guardian and Independent Misleading headlines

Other news outlets, including The Guardian and Independent, often also fall foul of the "bandwagon effect". Around four months ago, The Guardian chose to mislead vapes with the headline: "Chemicals in vapes could be highly toxic when heated, research finds"[vi].

The core structure of the story is based on the predictions and simulations from AI models, and not of real-world evidence. While the research does hold some value, without actual evidence of human involvement, the results don't fully reflect how these chemicals might interact with human bodies. And that's assuming that the AI models are accurate in their predictions that the chemicals are, in fact, present in the aerosol that vapes produce.

The publication overshadows the potential benefits of vaping as a harm reduction tool and uses fear-mongering terms such as "toxic", "health hazards" and "irritants", creating a sense of danger.

Image with a newspaper background and bold text highlighting the words "toxic", "illegal vapes", "dodgy vapes", and "disturbing risks". These words are presented as examples of sensationalist language used by some media outlets to create fear around vaping.

In August 2024, the Independent went with the misleading vape headline: "Vaping among adults at highest level in eight years"[vii]. What stunned me more than anything about this particular article is that the ASH report[viii], which this entire news story is based on, highlights a critical piece of data - Adult population misperceptions of harm.

This section of the study, by the very reputable health charity ASH, looks at how adults perceive vaping and how the misconceptions have changed since 2013, which The Independent failed to include in this publication. I feel it my duty to point out that the report suggests, media outlets play a pivotal role in misinforming smokers about dangers of vaping - oh the irony.

So, my advice? Don't believe everything you read in the media, especially when it comes to vaping.

Illegal Vapes Sellers And The Need For Educating

While some try to discourage vaping use for smoking cessation, there is often good news. Every couple of days I see statements suggesting that 1000's of illegal vapes are being seized by Trading Standards[ix]. While this headline looks like great news, after reading more into it, I often find that those found selling "Dodgy" vapes, generally get a slap on the wrist or petty fine[x]. Although, to be fair, the removal of the 1000's of 10k puff vapes must put a dent in their finances.

On one such occasion, in a report from the Salisbury Journal, a shopkeeper in Salisbury claimed :

“When we first opened, we didn’t know what was legal and what was not. It’s our fault; we didn’t research them, and I should have checked, but if they are being sold elsewhere, it should be normal.”

The shop owner from Salisbury also stated that selling 'big vapes' didn't benefit the shop as they were more expensive to buy and he didn't earn any profit on them[xi].

This prompts an important question: are some shopkeepers unaware of what vapes are legitimate and which aren't? Do they need educating on what constitutes illegal when it comes to vapes?

However, specialist vape shops have no excuse; these are expected to know the rights from wrongs, something Totally Wicked prides its business on. Should corner shops, that sell almost anything and everything that the locals need, be expected to fully understand the vaping industry and the different vapes available such as illegal big puff vapes? This is obvious. If a shopkeeper is going to purchase vapes from non-reputable vape distributors, then they should be held accountable for selling them on to a consumer.

Ongoing Illegal Vape Problems

Illegal Big Puff Vapes

The "big vape" incident in Salisbury brings me onto my next issue: illegal big puff vapes! Many big puff vapes are considered illegal as they claim to contain much more nicotine than is permitted. They often have bigger vape tanks than is allowed. However, I need to make it clear that there are many "legal" big puff vapes available. Vapes such as the Elf bar AF5000, Lost Mary BM6000, and IVG 2400, asdsdere to the regulations.

This is a clickable image that links to the Big Puffs Category. Image shows a collection of big puff vapes , including a red IVG 2400 disposable vape with the text I Vape Great and IVG 2400 imprinted on the product, a yellow Lost Mary BM6000 disposable vape with a yellow to orange gradient design and the text Lost Mary imprinted on the product, a blue Elf Bar AF5000 disposable vape with the text ELFBAR and Melon Ice imprinted on the product, and two small 10ml eliquid refill containers.

Unregulated illegal vapes are flooding the UK and our own CEO, Marcus Saxton, has highlighted how the a disposable ban and restrictions on e-liquid flavours will exacerbate the problem further:

"….With an estimated third of the UK vape market comprising illicit products, any ban will simply benefit those pushing illegal and unregulated product as people seek out single-use and flavoured products from illicit sources.[xii]"

Black market vapes usually dominate headlines, especially when it involves children being illegally sold vapes, often advertised as 0% nicotine. I've seen a rise in reports lately of adults and youths getting their hands on these vapes. With some vape nicotine levels of up to 5.0% (50 mg/ml)[xiii], way above the legal limit of 2.0% (20mg/ml)[xiv]. A Jordan North documentary on the BBC found some illegal vapes with 10 times the legal limit[xv].

These devices generally look like normal disposable vapes and can have very similar branding to popular vapes such Elf bar and Lost Mary. They are also reports of excessive nicotine levels being advertised as zero-nicotine 10,000 puff vapes^[xvi], although the puff counts are highly debatable.

Illegal THC Vape Pens

Over the past 12-18 months, I've seen an increase in reports about THC vape pens. These pens look similar to common vape pens, with a cylinder shape battery, clear fluid chamber and mouth piece. Some publications suggest that "dodgy vapes" are being sold to youths via social media. Once purchased, they are taken into schools or colleges, before being sold or given too unsuspecting children. They are advertised as THC vape pens, which are illegal in the UK, but some are filled with dangerous class B drugs[xvii]. Let's be absolutely clear about the problem here, and it's not the vapes. The problem is that the THC in the e-liquid is a "controlled substance" that can't be legally sold or distributed in the UK. The people selling those vapes or e-liquids are drug dealers.

A close-up of a THC vape cartridge. The cartridge is mostly transparent, showing the golden-colored cannabis oil inside. It has a white mouthpiece and a metal base with threading. A warning label with a THC symbol is visible on the cartridge.

If you think your child may be vaping, its best to address the issue in the right way. Remember not to confront them in an antagonistic way, and try to understand their reasons. Explain to them that, although vaping is considerably safer than smoking, its not without its risks. As for adults, it's best to only buy from reputable stores such as Totally Wicked. If you're in doubt about any purchase from a non-specialist vape store, pop into your local Totally Wicked store, and ask one of our helpful staff members.

Finding Good News About Vaping

Despite there being so many misleading headlines about vaping, I do sometimes come across actual non-biased, supportive news around vaping. This is generally not from local or national media. These articles are more commonly found in reports such as the recent ASH report or on public health websites like the NHS[xviii]. They often highlight the benefits of vaping over smoking and encourage e-cigarettes as the preferred method for smoking cessation.

Helpful Vaping Information From The NHS

The NHS is a pioneer for vaping as a preferred method to give up smoking. They provide information on different vapes to use, such as vape pens, mods, and pod-type kits, plus they highlight the importance of choosing the right nicotine strength.

While the NHS encourages the use of vaping[xix], without reports like the ASH report, published in August 2024, the news would be forever bleak. The latest publication analysed data from 2010 to 2024 and looked at the trends of vapers across this period. Some notable stats in the ASH report are:

3 million current vapers are ex-smokers.
47% of currant vapers prefer fruit flavours.
60% of smokers who have never vaped believe it is more harmful than smoking.

Media Is To Blame For Misinforming Smokers

In the year 2023, ASH reported that there were as many as 6.4 million smokers in the UK. This suggests there could be as many as 3.8 million who think that it may be better to keep smoking than move completely onto less harmful products.

2019-2022 in the US saw large media coverage of vape products that caused injuries to health. The ASH report suggests this may be part of the reason why we saw an increase in smokers that have never vaped thinking vapes are equally or more harmful than smoking. This jumped from 27% to 42% between 2019 and 2020. From the year 2022 to 2024, we saw a very worrying further rise in non-vaping smokers delusions about vaping harm, from 36% to 60%. I’m making no assumptions on why this might have happened! However is does seem that "fake news" is responsible for almost 2/3 of this group not feeling they can move to a much safer habit.

My Final Say on Vaping and Media Coverage

It's important to not read too much into a headline. It’s common practice for media to over dramatize a specific story to draw in unsuspecting readers. This practice can often be abused and as the ASH report suggests, it can have a detrimental effect on smokers looking for alternatives. Be vigilant when buying vapes from non-specialist vape retailers. Try to only buy from reputable vape shops such as Totally Wicked.

For more information on vaping, the NHS website offers lots of impartial advice on transitioning away from cigarettes, and onto less harmful alternatives.