LAUSR

EVALI (E-cigarette, or Vaping, product use-Associated Lung Injury) was an outbreak of severe and sometimes fatal lung injury in North America between mid-2019 and early 2020 [1]. It occurred among young people who vaped black-market tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) oils contaminated with vitamin E acetate (VEA). Fourteen percent of EVALI cases reported vaping nicotine only [1]. This finding has been used to make the claim that nicotine products can cause EVALI. Australian health departments, for example, have warned about a link between nicotine vaping products and the outbreak of EVALI [2, 3]. Media reports still link EVALI to nicotine vaping in an alarming way [4]. This messaging shapes public perceptions of the risks of vaping nicotine and adversely influences public policy on e-cigarettes [5]. Vaping is the most popular aid for quitting or reducing smoking in Australia [6], the United Kingdom [7] and the United States [8] and is more effective than nicotine replacement therapy [9]. There are likely to be substantial benefits for public health if more Australian smokers switched to vaping nicotine [10]. However, unfounded claims about a link with EVALI and restrictive Australian policies justified by this claim reduce the uptake of e-cigarettes in Australia to the detriment of public health.