WORLD CANCER DAY 2024

WHAT IS WORLD CANCER DAY ?

Every year since 2000, on February 4th, the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) organises a day to raise awareness around the world about cancer. Through individual, collective and institutional initiatives, a global, proactive movement is set up to condemn, alert, educate and take action against the universal plague that is cancer.

At Sweetch, we feel it's important to contribute to this public health issue, by pointing out that tobacco kills, particularly through cancer, and that e-cigarettes are the most effective tool in the fight against this health disaster.

There are an estimated 1.3 billion smokers on our planet, with more than 8 million deaths a year directly caused by smoking, and therefore preventable. It is now widely acknowledged that smoking is one of the biggest public health issues in the world, whether in terms of cancer or cardiovascular disease.

Plane, Vaping, overhead bin, checked bag, e-cig

THE CURRENT SITUATION IN SWITZERLAND

Although the number of smokers in Switzerland has dropped in recent years, it now seems to have stabilised at 24% of the population over the age of 15.

Smoking still kills 9,500 people a year in Switzerland, or 26 people a day. This mortality rate represents 14% of deaths all causes combined.

Cardiovascular disease accounts for 34% of smoking-related deaths, lung cancer for 29%, diseases of the respiratory tract for 17% and other cancers, including mouth and throat, for 16%.

In 2022, there were just 3% of e-cigarette users in Switzerland.
Researchers at the Universities of Neuchâtel and Zurich have calculated that the return on investment in anti-smoking measures in Switzerland is 41 francs. In other words, for every franc invested in the fight against smoking in Switzerland, the expected net benefit to society is 41 francs.

No vaping, No smoking, laws, legislation, e-cigarettes, e-liquides, fines

In terms of figures, smoking in Switzerland currently costs the community CHF 3.9 billion a year : CHF 3 billion in health costs and CHF 900 million in lost earnings.

The revenue generated by the Confederation from tobacco tax amounts to just CHF 2 billion and cannot offset the costs associated with the health damage caused by smoking.

To improve people's quality of life and reduce healthcare costs, it's time to tackle the problem of smoking head-on and offer smokers easier access to e-cigarettes as a way of quitting smoking, along with uncensored information about the benefits of vaping, such as the drastic reduction in the number of cancers.

VAPING : AN EFFECTIVE WAY OF REDUCING THE RISK OF SMOKING-RELATED CANCERS

First, while nicotine is highly addictive, it does not cause cancer. It's smoking and the combustion of traditional cigarettes that cause so-called "smoker's cancers".

Since 2015, thanks to Public Health England, we know that electronic cigarettes are 95% less harmful than regular cigarettes.

On the other hand, if vaping does not cause cancer, it could, as a permanent smoking cessation tool, save thousands of lives in the decades to come, as well as generating significant health savings that would be much more useful redistributed to cancer research.

The simple act of giving up smoking considerably reduces the risk of developing a cancer linked to one's former smoking habits, a sort of "prevention rather than cure" approach.

CONCLUSION

It is now clear that vaping should be a key element in the fight against cancer. It is imperative that health professionals change their paradigm regarding the electronic cigarette and stop vilifying this proven smoking cessation tool.

In the fight against cancer, it's time to see vaping not as a problem, but as a solution.

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