Professor Henry Marshall has seen it all in his career of helping people who just want to do something that all of us take for granted….and that’s breathing.
Based on site at the Prince Charles Hospital precinct, the lung specialist’s job is to work with people who have conditions such as breathlessness, emphysema, blood clots and lots more.
As a thoracic physician, he’s seen the damage smoking has done to generations of Queenslanders, and what concerns him now is the fact that he will be long retired when the impact of vaping will appear in hospitals.
Throughout the 1970s and 80s, the message was getting through thick and fast that smoking tobacco was bad for your health, and today the number of people smoking cigarettes across Australia are at an all-time low.
Initially introduced as a way to help quit cigarettes, vaping has taken off in popularity over the last 10 years. Using marketing tactics that target children and youths using flavours like cola, ice cream and mango, it means that fitting in with the vaping crowd could have long-term side effects that may only be realised when it’s too late.
“Over the years I’ve become more and more interested in smoking cessation and tobacco control because these things are huge burden on the health system, and the people of Queensland,” Professor Marshall said.
“After the success of the last 20 or 30 years regarding tobacco, I think we’ve now gone backwards and it’s a real shame. We’ve seen smoking use reduce dramatically, but now we’re seeing people addicted to nicotine through the use of vapes, e-cigarettes and in particular disposable vapes.
“We know full well the dangers of smoking tobacco, which came to fruition back in 1954, with a report linking smoking to lung cancer and heart attacks. With vapes, the research isn’t that mature, and the known evident into the effects of vaping are still developing.”
As shown in the Queensland Health ‘Vape Truths’, and the ‘There’s Nothing Sweet About Vapes’ Campaigns (see links below), the message is getting out to Queenslanders about just what goes into disposable vapes, and what they are inhaling into their lungs.
They might smell nice, but vapes result in breathing in a lot of the same ingredients found in nail polish remover, weed killer, cleaning products and bug spray.
“Vapes haven’t been around that long compared to tobacco, and its clever marketing saying that it is less dangerous for you than smoking, but the comparison should be about breathing air, which is what lungs are designed to do,” Professor Marshall said.
“It’s your lungs that have to deal with what you inhale, and right now we have yet to see the long-term effects of vaping, and I will be retired by the time we see the results of people vaping for 10, 20, or 30 years.
Plus there’s the issue of nicotine, which is the addictive product that keeps you coming back again and again craving a vape.
“All these things combine to affect the brain, and the lungs. The average age of lung cancer diagnosis in Australia is 71, so we have to wait to see the effects of small amounts of damage building up day after day caused by inhaling vapes.”
Professor Marshall has seen the effects of smoking on thousands of Queenslanders, and hopes that the message can get out there about the dangers of vaping before an entire generation faces lung issues.
“You only get one pair of lungs, and you need to look after them, because breathing is something you don’t appreciate until you struggle to do it.”
“Vaping is already widespread,” he said. “The information is out there and there are support lines to help Queenslanders enjoy a healthier lifestyle by quitting smoking and vaping.
Find out more about Vape Truths here: www.vapetruths.initiatives.qld.gov.au/
Find out why There’s Nothing Sweet About Vapes here: www.vapingexposed.initiatives.qld.gov.au/
To get support or information on giving up smoking or vaping, visit: www.quithq.initiatives.qld.gov.au/