An anti-vaping professor was questioned during a Senate inquiry to provide examples of deaths from e-cigarettes before she finally admitted that the only known deaths were when vaping batteries exploded.
Professor Emily Banks was questioned on Wednesday at the Senate inquiry into the Therapeutic Goods and Other Laws (Vaping Reforms) Amendment Bill.
The director of the Center for Public Health Policy and Data at the Australian National University in Canberra is a leading advocate for stricter regulations on vaporizers due to health concerns related to these popular devices.
Queensland Federal National Senator Matt Canavan told the consultation that it is still not sure ‘after all these years’ if anyone has died using a vape in places like the UK or New Zealand.
Or even just a serious medical episode. Because I’m trying to hit the threshold here before we ban something,” she said.
Professor Emily Banks (pictured at Wednesday’s Senate inquiry) was asked to provide an example of deaths resulting from vaping, which she was unable to do.
Senator Matt Canavan (pictured via link in the Senate inquiry into vaping) had to keep asking the professor to answer his question.
‘Is there such evidence?’
Professor Banks spoke about the 34 countries that had banned vapes before saying the problem goes beyond adults consenting to buy the product, as companies have targeted children to become addicted.
Mr Canavan admitted that, while this was an important point, he wanted an answer to his question, which was eventually answered by Professor Banks.
“So we’re not just talking about deaths, there are examples of deaths in those countries from exploding batteries, for example,” he said.
Although Professor Banks could not point to anyone dying from inhaling e-cigarettes, she listed other health implications.
‘There are also examples of serious lung injuries. “I was recently at an international forum where a doctor was talking about having a teenager on a ventilator, with tubes in his chest, due to lung trauma related to vaping,” she said.
‘They talked about how it was very difficult to remove the tubes because the lung damage is very severe, and they also noted that they had never had a teenager in their care in that situation due to smoking.
‘So there are examples of serious outcomes.
The main thing is that we do not have to talk about serious results; You can simply talk about the fact that there are large proportions of people who become addicted.
It doesn’t have to be serious or fatal.
The professor also said that it is too early to know the long-term effects of rape and we do not know the impact it has on the heart and cancer cells (file image of a vape smoker).
Professor Banks told the research that 30 per cent of Australian e-cigarette users have never smoked, and just under a third said they would find it difficult to quit.
However, Senator Canavan still asked for evidence of severe impacts and whether they were the result of illegal or regulated vaping, saying she had a “very limited time” for her response.
He then returned to the topic of companies targeting children and directed his questions to Dr Becky Freeman, robbing Ms Banks of the opportunity to respond.
Western Australian Greens senator Jordon Steele-John asked Professor Banks if she agreed vaping is “95 per cent safer than smoking tobacco”.
“There’s really no evidence to support ’95 percent less harmful,’ which I think is what you might call it,” he responded.
‘By saying it is 95 percent less harmful, what result are you referring to? If you’re talking about childhood addiction, you could actually say that e-cigarettes may pose a greater risk than smoking.
Professor Banks believes vapes (pictured) are worse than cigarettes for childhood addiction, especially because of the flavors available.
“We are seeing that 23 percent of school students who start using vapes do so at age 12 and another 23 percent start at age 13. These are not harsh on the throat, they have flavors, they are very easy to use .
‘You could also say that, in terms of poisoning, children are at greater risk. “Having a blanket statement is problematic.”
He also admitted that the impact of vaporizers is largely unknown because they are a recent product.
“We don’t know a lot of the effects (we don’t know what effect it has on cancer and we don’t know what effect it has on cardiovascular disease). It’s very difficult to really appreciate the comparison,” Professor Banks said.
Around 24,000 Australians die each year from smoking, according to the Cancer Councila fact that has divided health advocates and politicians in their support for vaporizers, with some believing they are safer.
