Evidence That Vaping Could Save Thousands

The Bangkok Post recently revealed a stark public health contradiction: whilst 47 people die daily from smoking cigarettes, totalling 71,000 deaths annually, there has not been a single recorded death from e-cigarette use in Thailand.

Despite this disparity, conventional cigarettes remain widely available in every convenience store whilst potentially life-saving vaping products remain prohibited. 

Nancy Loucas, CAPHRA’s Executive Coordinator, said: “The evidence from Thailand mirrors what we've seen across the Asia-Pacific region—policies driven by misinformation rather than science are costing lives.

“When Public Health England concluded that vaping is approximately 95% safer than smoking cigarettes, they provided a scientific foundation that many countries have used to develop sensible harm reduction policies.”

CAPHRA says that since vapes appeared approximately 20 years ago, more than 100 million people worldwide have been killed by combustible cigarettes, whilst fewer than 100 deaths have been attributed to vaping—an astonishing ratio of 10,000,000:1. 

Research demonstrates vaping's effectiveness as a smoking cessation tool. A peer-reviewed study from 2021 found that daily e-cigarette usage among tobacco smokers can increase the likelihood of quitting smoking eightfold compared to other methods. 

Loucas continued: “Every day that Thailand maintains its ban on vaping products is another day where 47 people will die unnecessarily from smoking-related diseases. This ban doesn't prevent access—it simply forces consumers into unregulated black markets without quality controls.”

“The economic argument about protecting tobacco farmers rings hollow against the 93 billion baht spent annually treating smoking-related diseases.”

CAPHRA says it acknowledges concerns regarding youth access but emphasises that proper regulation, not prohibition, is the appropriate solution. 

Nancy Loucas concluded: “We support restrictions on marketing to young people but banning products that could save millions of adult smokers from premature death is neither. Thailand stands at a crossroads. It can continue its failed prohibition approach, or it can join the growing number of countries following scientific evidence to implement sensible regulations that will save countless lives.”

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Advocates is a regional alliance of consumer tobacco harm reduction advocacy organisations.  CAPHRA says it is not related to, or funded by any commercial interests. It is composed of volunteer consumer advocates from the Asia Pacific Region. 

The organisation adds: “We hope putting forward this information would clarify any doubt as to our interests and intentions. 

“CAPHRA stays committed to its mission to educate, advocate and represent the right of adult alternative nicotine consumers to access and use of products that reduce harm from tobacco use.  We advocate for the rights of consumers in the Asia-Pacific region to access and use evidence-based, regulated, and properly marketed harm reduction products as a means of reducing the devastating impact of smoking-related diseases.”

References:

• Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates - https://caphraorg.net/   

CAPHRA’s response to the United Nations Human Rights Council - https://www.caphraorg.net/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/2025-response_to_UNSR_THR-final.pdf

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV

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Dave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.