Could Vaping Fix Truss/Kwarteng Economy Damage
2022 has been one of the most financially challenging since the catastrophic 2007/8 banker induced recession that brought many businesses and families to their knees. Inflation has reached new heights, meaning the cost of consumer goods is eye-watering, and has left many families choosing between heating and eating this winter.
There have been many factors leading up to this point: The War in Ukraine has become a go-to excuse for rising transport costs and raw material availability, at the hands of ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss and ex-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. The latter of whom produced a budget that rocked the value of the pound internationally and inspired fear and uncertainty at all levels of society, from leaders to working people.
Much work is now underway to help reduce day-to-day costs, as well as stabilise to economy at-large. One of the biggest areas people can save, according to various experts and significant evidence, is to quit smoking. While vaping has had a number of challenges around youth access following the disposable vaping boom, it is still being hailed as the best option for people to successfully quit smoking.
The costs of smoking are staggering, not just personally but on a national scale. The pressures on services like the NHS, lost time in businesses, and personal finances translate to a total cost in-excess of £17 billion in England alone each year.
Speaking out about vaping’s potentially big role in removing these financial pressures, Mark Oates, Director of consumer advocacy group ‘We Vape’ has made some strong statements as to how current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak should be making use of e-liquids and vaping devices to undo the damage done by Truss.
We Vape
We Vape is a group acting as a unified voice for the vaping public and vaping industry, aggregating information in hope of advising policy by promoting factual, unbiased and credible information about the true risks of vaping vs the potential rewards.
Vaping, The NHS, and Financial Stability
Describing the challenges faced by the nation as like ‘staring into a financial abyss’, We Vape’s Mark Oates has stressed vaping’s potential in helping the government “reduce the financial burden on an already crippled NHS”.
“As Rishi Sunak attempts to navigate the country out of Truss’s disastrous mini budget, he has a unique opportunity to not only save millions of people cash, but also significantly reduce the financial burden on a crippled NHS, now facing a mass strike by nurses,” he commented.
Oates also feels the Khan review may be being overlooked, and wants to remind people of just how central vaping was to the recommendations made by the former Barnardo’s CEO.
“It is five months since the Dr Javed Khan report into ‘making smoking obsolete’ was published. Little has been done since as the Conservatives battled through groping and bullying scandals and two leadership contests in as many months.”
“But the government commissioned review made it perfectly clear - vaping should be promoted at every level to save lives, whilst making sure young people and non-smokers do not start. This is because every credible health source - from Cancer Research UK to the NHS - now accepts vaping is far safer than smoking.”
Oates wants the review to be honoured, and demands a roadmap be made clear on how these pro-vaping facts can be properly communicated to the wider public. Especially in light of the fact switching to vaping “will save many households thousands of pounds a year, the NHS millions and prevent countless preventable deaths from cancer.”
Pointing out that 1.4 million households in England alone are below the poverty line, he highlights the fact that if the cost of smoking were returned to them somehow, even with the other financial challenges we face, almost half a million of them could be raised above poverty.
“More than ever, our health services are in desperate need of a financial break and the poorest households need to find ways to save money. Well both needs can be met, if the government does what its own smoking report says it should. By implementing Dr Khan’s review recommendations and honouring our commitment to making England smoke free by 2030, the human and financial cost plummets from day one.”
“Khan recommended as a ‘must do’, the education of doctors, NHS staff and other health professionals in the benefits of vaping. He also said vaping should be offered as a substitute for smoking and wants a saturation media campaign and investment in local stop smoking services. But when?”
“A government campaign to promote vaping immediately is a no brainer and could be green lit today. But it takes a leader to do it. As Sunak is forced to buy billions of cubic metres of gas off Biden to try and counter the energy crisis and save Brits money, he should not ignore the easy wins at home.”
A Good Start
While we don’t think vaping will provide an all-in-one solution to the economic crisis we all now face, it is certainly a good start. The evidence is clear and readily available in favour of the savings making the switch can allow, and the health benefits are now becoming much more widely researched and every single report has consistently found vaping to be safer than smoking since 2015 when reporting began under the wing of UK parliament.
Do you think vaping could play as big of a rile as Mr Oates believes? While you make up your mind, if you want to save some time and money on your own vaping journey, there’s no better way than by exploring our ultra-flexible subscription service.
