Praise for Public Health England’s demonstration of smoking harm

An eye-catching video made by public relations firm Freuds for Public Health England (PHE) – whose involvement with the company has caused some controversy – has been praised for its portrayal of vaping as a much safer alternative to smoking.

The film “Smokefree ‘Health Harms’ – Impact of smoking vs vaping demonstration” has had more than 62,000 views on YouTube.

In it smoking researcher Lion Shahab from University College London and GP Dr Rosemary Leonard demonstrate visually the high levels of cancer-causing chemicals and tar inhaled by an average smoker over a month, compared to not smoking or using an e-cigarette.

A recent article in The Sunday Times criticised PHE for working with Freuds, which also handles media duties for US e-cigarette manufacturer Juul.