Why Flavors Play a Vital Role In Cessation for Adult Vapers

A multidimensional review of a report by a renowned cardiologist on how flavours in tobacco harm reduction can save lives

Over the past decade, there has been a surge in smokers using vapes as an alternative, with the number of e-cigarette users being estimated to be over 82 million as of 2021. Flavours continue to be crucial in both initially attracting – and retaining adult smokers’ interest in using e-cigarettes, with only 1% of vapers using flavourless e-liquids.

Do flavoured e-cigarettes affect smoking cessation outcomes?

Smoking kills half of its regular 1.3 billion users and is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide. So, alternatives that increase the chances of successfully quitting smoking can bring substantial health benefits. It is crucial to examine the acceptability and appeal of e-cigarettes in the smoking population. Smoking cessation aids need to be safe, but they must also be appealing and satisfactory to smokers. According to the report, the availability of flavours is vital to the experience smokers perceive. Flavoured vapes thus facilitate smoking cessation, which will eventually prevent disease and save lives—with most smokers who switch to electronic cigarettes using flavoured vapes.

Flavours contribute to cessation success. Restricting the choice of flavoured e-liquids could negatively affect the millions of adults who use vapes to reduce or quit smoking.

Are flavours a risk to the youth?

Many of the harms the public associates with vaping – such as the serious vaping-related lung injuries (EVALI) that were widely reported in 2019 and 2020 – have been linked to illicit products and harmful chemicals, which should not be present in regulated products.

Recent concerns about the attractiveness of e-cigarette flavours among youth have resulted in flavour restrictions in some jurisdictions across the globe, with the review arguing for the responsible and carefully regulated use of flavours to maximise the harm reduction effect of vapes and their role in smoking cessation.

Rather than banning flavours, which would drive consumers to the black market or back to traditional cigarettes, Dr Farsalinos’s review concludes that restrictions on vaping flavours would risk seriously reducing the life-saving potential of these innovative products.