Pro-vaping group embraces anti-smoking propaganda, again

I’ve been banging on for years about vaping activists consistently throwing smokers, and smoking, under the bus.

In January 2015 I wrote, ‘Is there anything more nauseous than listening to vapers calling for a ban on smoking in public places?’, and I’ve been highlighting similar cases ever since.

This week, on the eve of the report stage of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in the House of Commons, I spotted another example, a classic of its kind. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), We Vape, the pro-vaping lobby group, declared:

21.8bn—that’s how much smoking costs UK taxpayers every year. Harm reduction could slash this by up to £12.6bn.

If £21.8bn sounds familiar it’s because it’s an estimate courtesy of the anti-smoking group ASH - you know, those bastions of truth who never, EVER, exaggerate the cost of smoking to society.

But are they right? Here’s the IEA’s Chris Snowdon on the subject (September 5, 2024):

Despite smoking rates continuing to decline, ASH are claiming that the cost of smoking has nearly doubled in just five years. I shall write about ASH’s ridiculous estimate in a future article. Suffice to say it is an insult to our intelligence …

Two months later Snowdon did indeed write about ASH’s ‘ridiculous estimate’ - see Taking the liberal mask off prohibition.

I suggest We Vape and their supporters read it before repeating the claim that smoking costs UK taxpayers £21.8bn a year.

The fact that the discredited ‘estimate’ was reposted as fact by We Vape on the eve of the report stage of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in the House of Commons isn’t coincidence.

The aim is to drive the anti-smoking narrative in the hope that MPs, peers and government might amend the Bill and go easier on vapes. Good luck with that.

In reality, if smoking is eventually eradicated, as intended, vaping will suffer the same fate, sooner or later. It’s possible it could even be eradicated, in a decade or two, at the same time as smoking.

If, for example, Dr Michelle Haywood (who I wrote about on Monday) gets her way, the sale of all nicotine-containing products - including cigarettes and vapes - could be banned to future generations of adults in the Isle of Man at the same time.

And don’t for a second think Dr Haywood is an outlier. The only difference between her and many other politicians is that she’s said out loud what many of them are thinking.

Long before creeping prohibition is extended to the sale of all vapes, however, I fully expect vaping to be banned in the same public places as smoking.

The process has already started and it won’t stop until it’s illegal to vape in every indoor public place, and many outdoor spaces too.

But back to We Vape because this isn’t the first time I’ve had to write about their campaign.

In September 2021 I noted that the vaping advocacy group had organised a rally in Parliament Square (attended by 14 people) and among the neatly printed placards were several that read:

BACK VAPING PROTECT THE NHS

‘Back Vaping Protect The NHS’, I wrote, ‘is the sort of mindless slogan thought up by anti-smoking campaigners to denigrate smokers and their habit …

‘It’s particularly nauseating,’ I added, ‘because it implies that the health service is in danger of being overwhelmed by millions of sick smokers …

‘The irony is that advocates of e-cigarettes are quick to condemn anti-vaping propaganda but disinformation about smoking is alright if it furthers their cause.’

In contrast I was on Newstalk radio in Ireland last week talking about cigarette litter during which I denounced the ban on disposable vapes, despite the environmental issues that do need to be addressed (but not by prohibition).

That’s because I believe in the freedom to smoke, and vape, and unlike We Vape I don’t play one off against the other in a transparent, pathetic and vain attempt to curry favour with the stop smoking brigade.

I’m sure most people can see it for the gross opportunism it is, and that’s not a good look.

See: Propaganda wars (September 2021)

Update: Benjamin Elks of the TaxPayers Alliance posted an excellent thread on X in which he addressed the claim by ministers that the generational tobacco sales ban will boost productivity by £24.6bn, save the NHS £3.3bn, and cut social care costs by £2bn over 30 years.

In response Ben noted that:

Treasury will lose £26bn in tobacco duty. Retailers, manufacturers, and wholesalers will lose £3.6bn. And the tax hit from that? Mysteriously "unquantifiable" in the impact assessment.

ASH claims smoking costs the public finances more than tobacco tax revenues. But they count "lost productivity" (not actual Treasury costs) while ignoring the £10bn tobacco tax revenue vs £2.6bn NHS costs. Shall we ban annual leave too?

Where tobacco bans exist, black markets thrive. Australia now has gangland violence linked to illegal tobacco. South Africa saw 95% of smokers switch to the black market when sales were banned during COVID. Demand creates supply.

The UK already loses £2.8bn a year to illegal tobacco sales. When legal sales disappear, this hole will be filled by smugglers—not tax revenue. To cover the shortfall, we’d need to raise income tax by 1p and cut the personal allowance.

All valid points. The Government however only hears what it wants to hear. Likewise We Vape. Sad.

Comments

[Pat Nurse]

Meanwhile vaping organisations discredit any study allegedly showing the harms of vaping while believing any old bullshit put out about either the alleged harms or costs of smoking.

It's not about health but vested interests. There's barley a fag paper between the anti-smoker industry and the vaping industry which is why I don't trust a single thing said about vaping when vaping organisations or their supporters say it. ... and they have the audacity to say that smokers like me are put off vaping because of the scaremongering from the anti smoker industry.

No, it's because of the sanctimonious bleatings from one organisation that is just as bad as the other and neither are the friend of the smoker but rather would do anything to ensure we are further marginalised in society and excluded as much as possible unless we comply with the ideology of their new world.

Why can't they just leave us alone.

[Pat Nurse]

Incidentally, isn't it about time that the cost of antismokerism to the public was also exposed?

A pregnant mum told me she is to get £20 per week plus £100 at the end of the pregnancy if she keeps testing as a quitter. During 38 - 40 weeks of pregnancy that adds up to a lot for one person - how many all over the country? She also gets free vapes so no wonder vaping orgs want to push the cost of smoking while hiding how much the tax payer is paying the vaping industry.

I also saw recently that 2 Million has been thrown at one council to get smokers to quit. How much all over the country?

How about the hundreds recently given to the armed services to get people to quit - while they teach them to kill with guns and bombs, ironically - and who else gets tax payers ' cash to push anti smokerism?

How much is the combined cost of salaries for each and every person working on forcing smokers to quit across the country in local councils, alleged charities, and of course whitehall?

I think we should know so the true cost of anti smokerism compared with the fabricated cost of smoking can be assessed so the public is informed properly about how much of a burden they are being forced pay and to whom.

We all know in reality that smokers cost less than non smokers. We certainly cost only a tiny fraction of what those working in the anti smoker industry cost us all.

Couldn't Forest commission a report about that? I am sure people want to know about costs that are largely hidden from us.