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Our perceptions of risks are out of whack. Tim Andrews writes:
The smoking cessation drug Chantix was approved by the FDA in 2006 and is presently prescribed to roughly 175,000 Americans. For many, it is an effective smoking cessation tool and plays an important role in reducing the number of smokers in the United States.
But the drug is far from risk-free. One out of every 67 patients taking the medication experienced a significant adverse health event as a result. There’s some evidence linking the medication to increased heart risks and suicidal thoughts, though, similar to e-cigarettes, the FDA probably overstated risks. Chantix is, by all accounts, a powerful, effective medication, and just like many other proven drugs and therapies, it has its risks. But the risks of vaping don’t even come close to matching other smoking cessation products such as Chantix.
With more than 10 million Americans using e-cigarettes, it would take at least 150,000 injuries or ailments for vaping to reach Chantix’s level of risk. As it stands, legal vapes sold in convenience stores and dedicated shops can claim to have caused zero injuries whatsoever.
It is precisely because vaping has been linked to so few adverse health effects that the media thought 300 (linked to illegal “street vapes”) was enough to make a splash on the front-page news.
[Tim Andrews, “Hysterics Aside, Vaping Is the Safest Quit-Smoking Aid on the Market,” Foundation for Economic Education, September 13]
