eCALD® Cross-Cultural Interest Group News - December 2020
We are pleased to have completed our 2020 Cross-Cultural Interest Group (CCIG) seminar series with an informative, topical and interesting talk about “e-Cigarettes and Vaping – a panacea or a bane to smoking in current times?”, on the 17th of November 2020 provided by Guna Kanniah, senior specialist mental health and addictions clinical pharmacist from Waikato DHB. The presenter presented his research findings and perspectives, giving a very balanced view. The talk described local and international data showing the increasing use of e-cigarettes across the world in the last decade; the reasons for the growing use; the perceptions of relative harm; the preference of the younger generations (18-24) for vaping ingredients with flavouring, and other emerging trends. The presenter included information relating to historical tobacco timeline, health effects of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), population studies, challenges and his reflections.
The lecture was very well received with one smoke-free service provider noting that the information would be enhancing their smoking cessation service, especially with the knowledge of the effects of vaping to lung health. Feedback from our online evaluation showed that the presentation has scored more than 80% for all the indicators.
It is unfortunate that our CCIG programme has experienced many interruptions because of COVID restrictions and was not able to deliver in-person seminars. We hope the new year will be safer for us to resume the combination of in-person and zoom seminars.
