Tobacco use continues to fall out of favor with Americans, with only about one in eight U.S. adults using combustible tobacco products. However, marijuana usage has surpassed cigarette usage in the U.S.

The dramatic decline over the past decade is a nod to the implementation of successful cessation programs and raising the age to purchase adult products. There is a growing body of evidence supporting vaping as a way for adults to reduce or outright stop smoking.

Over the years, vaping has emerged as a powerful cessation tool for adult smokers. A recent article, co-authored by Brian King, director of the Center for Tobacco Products at the Food and Drug Administration, shines some light on the possibility that educating adult smokers and health care providers about the role vaping plays in eliminating smoking through the adoption of alternative ways for adults to consume nicotine. This research may provide the key to successful quitting of combustible tobacco products.

Nancy Rigotti, a respected professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Tobacco Research and Treatment Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, published a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine urging the medical community to embrace vaping as an aid for adults to stop smoking. Rigotti’s advocacy is backed by robust scientific research demonstrating that switching to vaping substantially reduces a person’s exposure to tobacco toxins, alleviates respiratory symptoms, and even reverses smoking-related physiological changes.

Numerous studies have consistently shown that nicotine alternatives, including vaping products, are significantly safer than traditional cigarettes. It’s essential to understand that it’s the tar in cigarettes, not nicotine, that causes the majority of health problems associated with smoking. This distinction is echoed by the British National Health Services, which actively encourages smokers to transition to vaping as a safer alternative to cigarettes.

Making it easier for adult smokers to stop smoking by utilizing safer ways to consume nicotine is one method that policymakers in Maine should acknowledge and actively embrace. By providing adult smokers with access to safer alternatives like vaping, policymakers could aid in saving lives and improve public health outcomes. Restricting access to flavored vaping products deprives smokers of a viable path to quitting by limiting adults’ options as they work toward eliminating smoking cigarettes from their daily routine.

It’s time health care providers focus on implementing evidence-based strategies that support smoking cessation efforts. This includes investing in comprehensive smoking cessation programs, providing accurate information about the relative risks of vaping versus smoking, and ensuring that vaping products are available in a regulated marketplace to ensure consumer safety and eliminate youth usage.

The push to eliminate flavored vaping products in Maine overlooks the significant benefits that vaping offers to adult smokers seeking to quit. By embracing vaping to migrate adults off cigarettes and respecting the preferences of adults who choose to use nicotine products, policymakers can make meaningful strides in reducing smoking rates and improving public health outcomes.

Let’s prioritize evidence-based solutions that respect the freedom and well-being of Maine’s adults.

Rep. Joshua Morris of Turner serves state House District 75 (Leeds, Livermore and Turner).

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