Mark Buchanan is a 58-year-old retired mechanical engineer from Cumbria. When news broke that the British Medical Association (BMA) was calling for a ban on non-tobacco vaping flavours, he reached out to the UKVIA to express his desperate concern that such a measure could drive him and many others back to deadly smoking.
He said the BMA, and anyone else who puts forward counterproductive vape policy proposals, needs to engage directly with smokers and vapers so they can fully understand the impact of their actions.
Our team conducted the following interview with Mark to ensure his voice is heard and so the BMA can see one of the people who will be most hurt by their recommendation for a flavour ban.
Q: How long were you a smoker?
A: “I started smoking when I was 30, after a bout of severe depression. My cigarette use would vary, but at times I was getting through a pack-a-day.
“I wanted to stop for my daughter, but traditional Nicotine Replacement Therapies just weren’t working for me; I tried the gums but after furiously chewing I would still want a cigarette, and the patches weren’t an option as they triggered an allergic reaction.
“To make matters worse, my social anxiety meant that I struggled to access support through stop smoking services.
“All in all, I was smoking for about 23 years.”
Q: How did you get into vaping and what have you noticed since making the switch?
A: “I first tried vaping about five years ago after another ex-smoker recommended it as a way to stop smoking. After a few days of finding my footing and figuring out the differences I was off and I’m proud to say I haven’t touched a cigarette since.
“If I’m honest, I didn’t realise how much smoking was affecting my health until I started to experience rapid improvements from vaping. Suddenly, I wasn’t feeling breathless and that stubborn cough, which I had put down to ageing, was gone – after just two months it was blindingly obvious that I was physically better.
“The other thing I noticed was the cost savings. A pack of cigarettes costs a small fortune now but I’m spending just £2 per week on e-liquid. It also helps that I’ve been able to escape the heavy cigarette smell and that I don’t feel I need to stand in the freezing weather to use my vape.”
Q: What are your vape habits and how has your nicotine consumption changed over time?
A: “I use a small mod, set at about 12 watts, and am particularly fond of menthol flavours. I can’t stand tobacco vapes and don’t want to use anything that makes me think about cigarettes.
“I think one of the good things about vaping is that you can lead your own stop smoking journey, set your own pace. Over the years vaping has helped me completely stop smoking and cut down my nicotine consumption by about half.”
Q: What would you do if flavours were banned?
A: “I’m concerned that I would return to smoking if I was made to use tobacco-flavoured vapes as a result of a ban. I also think there’s a real risk this could push people, especially young people, to the black market.
“I wouldn’t want to see people forced down the line of going to illegal products – it’s very dangerous.”
Q: What do you think of the way vaping is portrayed in the media?
A: “I’ve no doubt that the way vaping is portrayed in the media is adding to misperceptions. I’ve had strangers stop me in the street to say it just as bad as, if not worse than, smoking because they’ve ‘seen it on the news’.
“I think the media needs to be more unbiased…and that starts with getting the terminology right. Too often do I hear people using the word ‘smoke’ when talking about vaping. This sends the complete wrong message and could confuse viewers.
“They also need to be clear that vaping is less harmful. I’ve heard guests say that it is just as bad as smoking, and it isn’t addressed or corrected by the hosts.”
Q: If you could give one message to the BMA on the call for a flavour ban, what would it be?
A: “Please don’t. Far from improving the health of the nation I think the recommendations put forward by the BMA stand to make things worse.
“If a flavour ban was introduced, I could well end up smoking again – and I expect this is a danger for a lot of others like me.”