Indian Study Claims Vaping Is a HUGE Gateway to Vaping
E-cigarette opponents have been using the gateway-to-smoking argument for years, but with multiple studies and surveys showing otherwise, they’ve been having a tough time proving it’s a real concern. Luckily, an Indian NGO has just released a study that’s bound to put a big smile on the faces of those who would love to see vaping banned into oblivion.
The Salaam Bombay Foundation, a non-government organization based in Mumbai, has asked for a total ban on electronic cigarettes in India after presenting a study that clearly shows they are a huge gateway to smoking tobacco for youths. Well, calling this research a study would be a bit far-fetched, considering it was actually a small-scale cross-sectional survey with a pool of just 300 respondents. Basically, they interviewed 300 students – ages 10 to 25 – about e-cigarette use during the months of April and May, and found that 73% of them had been exposed to vaping devices, with 33% of them reporting that they were using them, and 15% declaring themselves regular users.
Furthermore, Salaam Bombay Foundation researchers also found that a whopping 80% of electronic cigarette users in India not used any tobacco prior to vaping, but they were now switching to tobacco cigarettes after being introduced to the evil that is nicotine. None of the sources I’ve found online mention how the study reached this shocking conclusion, but hey, it’s in the news so it must be true…
But wait, there’s more. The “study” reportedly quotes a 12-year-old boy from a city school, who claims that children start out by using e-cigarettes for fun and later start using tobacco cigarettes. I mean, if you can’t trust a 12-year-old to tell it like it is, who can you trust? Glad they included his testimony as fact.
“E-cigarettes have been targeting our youth with their colors and flavors that entice them and pull them towards addiction to tobacco,” Tshering Bhutia, vice president of Projects Preventive Health & Research of the foundation, told Xinhua News, adding that banning these products is a way to keep kids away from tobacco consumption. As always, it’s all about the kids!
The Salaam Bombay Foundation “study” was conducted with the support of the WHO South East Asia Regional Office, whose regional advisor, Jagdish Kaur, decided to bestow some more irrefutable scientific facts on us ignorant people:
“Scientifically one e-cigarette is equivalent to 20 cigarettes or even more and is more dangerous than cigarette smoking. Around 36 countries have already banned it,” Mr. Kaur said.
Well, I guess I’ll just toss all my vaping gear in the trash right now and get a pack of real cigarettes, since they’re just as bad, or may even be less dangerous than e-cigarettes… Seriously though, I have a hard time coming to terms with the fact that this joke of a study was even presented to the public, let alone featured in the media.
