A charity boss in Aberdeen is calling on the council to implement new rules banning the use of electronic cigarettes in public places. Martina Chukwuma-Ezike, head of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, has warned that e-cigarettes are putting the lives of asthma sufferers at risk.
Ms. Chukwuma-Ezike, who is also serving as the President of the University of Aberdeen, has revealed new data indicating that there are currently 4.3 million adult e-cigarette users in the United Kingdom. She stressed that smoke is one of the biggest triggers for potentially life-threatening asthma attacks, thus urging individuals to take the issue seriously.
As an asthmatic, there are certain areas of this city that I cannot even walk through, as the abundance of electronic cigarettes being used by people conducting business in those areas overwhelms me. We may have lost the battle against air pollution, but now we have an e-cigarette problem. Shouldn't the focus be on creating cleaner, greener environments? This is already bad enough for those without respiratory conditions, but for us asthmatics, it is a matter of life and death. We need to address the issue of air pollution while also taking into account how e-cigarettes are polluting our atmosphere where we work and live. We are inhaling deadly particles instead of the clean air dreams that we all hope for, and this is a serious public health issue. I urge local authorities to address this issue as a matter of urgency using innovative solutions.
In 2020, there were 113 asthma-related deaths in Scotland. Every 20 minutes, a child with asthma is admitted to the hospital due to a potentially life-threatening asthma attack. Young people from the poorest areas are four times more likely to have asthma.
She added, "There are strict regulations covering where smokers can smoke in public places. Why aren't these rules applicable to e-cigarettes? The rules should currently be set by property owners, but it's time for local authorities to take the lead in considering the public health impact and establishing e-cigarette shelters or pods to protect people as needed.
The owner of Scotland's only asthma-focused charity organization is speaking out after new data revealed that the number of people vaping has increased five-fold in the last decade.
Data compiled by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) indicates that 8.3% of UK adults use electronic cigarettes. This marks a significant increase from 1.7% a decade ago.
ASH states that there has been an "e-cigarette revolution" over the past decade. Ms. Chukwuma-Ezike goes on to say, "Scotland has 400,000 asthma sufferers. But we seem to be the forgotten ones." This is also my reality. I have an extreme lung condition called brittle asthma. If I were to be engulfed in a cloud of e-cigarette smoke while walking down Union Street in Aberdeen, I could very well end up in the hospital overnight. "Every day, thousands upon thousands of people like me are impacted by cigarettes and e-cigarettes. For us, this is a matter of life or death.
This is why we are developing a national asthma strategy that addresses issues such as smoking, general air pollution, poverty, housing, and education. I believe that our thinking must progress around these issues in order to create a happier and cleaner air environment for all of us.
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