A powerful case is emerging for embracing vaping as a public health tool in the fight against cigarette smoking. This is important given a tobacco industry effort in Texas to eliminate competition for its deadly products.
Senate Bill 1698 by Republican Tan Parker (Flower Mound) would wipe out options for smokers attempting to stop their deadly habit. His bill requires products that compete with cigarettes to be “registered” with the FDA before they can be sold in Texas. This is an intentionally impossible task given a backlog of hundreds of thousands of products under a review process invented by, but not applied to the tobacco industry.
While opponents to vaping cling to Big Tobacco spin, the data tells a different story. In fact, vaping helps smokers quit, youth vaping is declining, and responsible marketing by the industry has made a huge difference. It’s time policymakers stop fighting the wrong enemy and start listening to science, physicians, and—critically—consumers.
Across the Atlantic, the United Kingdom has pioneered a harm reduction strategy grounded in evidence, not fear. According to the Royal College of Physicians, e-cigarettes are not only significantly safer than traditional tobacco products, but they are also among the most effective smoking cessation tools available today. UK health authorities have gone so far as to include vapes in national smoking cessation campaigns—an approach now backed by years of declining tobacco smoking rates.
Cigarette smoking in the UK is hitting historic lows. A major factor? Smokers making the switch to vaping. In the United States, where Big Tobacco has slowed progress, there’s still encouraging news. A growing number of American smokers are turning to vaping to quit—despite relentless efforts like SB 1698 cigarette makers are pushing.
Vaping has surpassed traditional nicotine replacement therapies—like gums and patches—as the most used smoking cessation aid.
Critics of vaping often cite concerns about youth usage, but the reality is that youth vaping has declined significantly in recent years. The drop coincides with industry-led actions to restrict marketing and flavored product access for minors. The industry’s proactive steps—such as implementing age-verification technologies and limiting advertising placements—have had measurable success. The result? A marked drop in teen use, according to CDC data and corroborated by UK trends, where youth vaping has similarly declined under a model of responsible regulation.
Moreover, public opinion is shifting. A poll commissioned by the Vapor Technology Association found that nearly 80% of U.S. voters support “commonsense regulation” of vaping products over bills like SB 1698.
Bans and restrictive legislation may feel politically safe, but they’re scientifically reckless. If the goal is to reduce smoking-related deaths—and it should be—then vaping must be recognized as part of the solution, not the problem. And Texas legislators who vote for Parker’s bill are serving the interests of tobacco companies, and certainly not Texans.