A fit and healthy footballer advertising vaping products is an incongruent image. E-cigarettes cut out some of the harmful chemicals associated with tobacco but still contain highly-addictive nicotine.
So it seems absurd that our top-flight football clubs, whose players are role models for young fans, should help promote their use.
Research on the harmful effects of vaping is still short on supply; medical experts say it hasn’t been around long enough to know exactly how damaging it can be, notwithstanding claims it is 95 per cent safer than smoking.
Scottish football clubs are constantly looking to establish new revenue streams to help meet their running costs. But it would appear they aren’t too fussy about where those funds come from, so long as it’s legal.
Gambling firms already have a foothold in the game with bookmakers sponsoring Rangers, Celtic and Dundee United.
Charity groups have called for a ban amid claims young fans should not be encouraged to gamble. The same could be said for the vaping industry.
High-profile health campaigns helped reduce the number of young smokers and saved them serious health conditions. But it was a hard-fought battle.
Our football clubs, whose decisions influence their army of fans, should pay attention when doctors say the promotion of e-cigs in professional sport risks reversing the trend and show vaping a red card.
Virus emergency
Research linking Covid-19 to an increase in dementia cases is the latest post-pandemic health concern. It seems that over-65s being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s increases if someone has already suffered from coronavirus.
Evidence that Covid patients are 50-80 per cent more at risk of developing the brain condition – which has no cure – is an alarming finding.
The examination of six million people’s health records was a thorough investigation that is still ongoing in the United States.
Shortness of breath, heart abnormalities, and Type 2 diabetes have already been identified as conditions that can emerge between one to five months after testing positive.
Those were added to mental health issues, the emergence of Long Covid and the economic chaos the pandemic caused.
The health emergency put a massive strain on resources. It looks like it will continue to cast a long shadow for years to come.
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