Global InformationPositions of medical organizations on electronic cigarettes information
The scientific community in the United States and Europe are primarily concerned with the possible effect of electronic cigarette use on public health.[1] There is concern among public health experts that e-cigarettes could renormalize smoking, weaken measures to control tobacco,[2] and serve as a gateway for smoking among youth.[3] The public health community is divided over whether to support e-cigarettes, because their safety and efficacy for quitting smoking is unclear.[4] Many in the public health community acknowledge the potential for their quitting smoking and decreasing harm benefits, but there remains a concern over their long-term safety and potential for a new era of users to get addicted to nicotine and then tobacco.[3] There is concern among tobacco control academics and advocates that prevalent universal vaping "will bring its own distinct but as yet unknown health risks in the same way tobacco smoking did, as a result of chronic exposure", among other things.[5]
Medical organizations differ in their views about the health implications of vaping[6] and avoid releasing statements about the relative toxicity of electronic cigarettes because of the many different device types, liquid formulations, and new devices that come onto the market.[7] Some healthcare groups and policy makers have hesitated to recommend e-cigarettes with nicotine for quitting smoking, despite some evidence of effectiveness (when compared to Nicotine Replacement Therapy or e-cigarettes without nicotine) and safety.[7] Reasons for hesitancy include challenges ensuring that quality control measures on the devices and liquids are met, unknown second hand vapour inhalation effects, uncertainty about EC use leading to the initiation of smoking or effects on people new to smoking who develop nicotine dependence, unknown long-term effects of electronic cigarette use on human health, uncertainty about the effects of ECs on smoking regulations and smoke free legislation measures, and uncertainty about involvement of the tobacco industry.[7]
Some have advocated bans on e-cigarette sales and others have suggested that e-cigarettes may be regulated as tobacco products but with less nicotine content or be regulated as a medicinal product.[8] A 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) report found that the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of vaping for quitting smoking is "scant and of low certainty".[9] Healthcare organizations in the United Kingdom in 2015 have encouraged smokers to try e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking and also encouraged e-cigarette users to quit smoking tobacco entirely.[10] In 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that "Although ENDS [electronic nicotine delivery systems] may potentially provide cessation benefits to individual smokers, no ENDS have been approved as effective cessation aids."[11] In 2019 the European Respiratory Society stated that "The long-term effects of ECIG use are unknown, and there is therefore no evidence that ECIGs are safer than tobacco in the long term."[12] Following hundreds of possible cases of severe lung illness and five confirmed deaths associated with vaping in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated on September 6, 2019, that people should consider not using vaping products while their investigation is ongoing.[13]
- ^ Gualano, Maria Rosaria; Passi, Stefano; Bert, Fabrizio; La Torre, Giuseppe; Scaioli, Giacomo; Siliquini, Roberta (2015). "Electronic cigarettes: assessing the efficacy and the adverse effects through a systematic review of published studies". Journal of Public Health. 37 (3): 488–497. doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdu055. ISSN 1741-3842. PMID 25108741.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
HSF2014was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
WLF2014was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Franck, Caroline; Filion, Kristian B.; Kimmelman, Jonathan; Grad, Roland; Eisenberg, Mark J. (2016). "Ethical considerations of e-cigarette use for tobacco harm reduction". Respiratory Research. 17 (1): 53. doi:10.1186/s12931-016-0370-3. ISSN 1465-993X. PMC 4869264. PMID 27184265.
- ^ Bullen, Chris; Knight-West, Oliver (2016). "E-cigarettes for the management of nicotine addiction". Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation. 7: 111–118. doi:10.2147/SAR.S94264. ISSN 1179-8467. PMC 4993405. PMID 27574480.
- ^ "FCA Policy briefing Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems" (PDF). Framework Convention Alliance on Tobacco Control. 13–18 October 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ a b c Hartmann-Boyce, Jamie; McRobbie, Hayden; Butler, Ailsa R.; Lindson, Nicola; Bullen, Chris; Begh, Rachna; Theodoulou, Annika; Notley, Caitlin; Rigotti, Nancy A.; Turner, Tari; Fanshawe, Thomas R.; Hajek, Peter (2021-09-14). "Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 9 (9): CD010216. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub6. ISSN 1469-493X. PMC 8438601. PMID 34519354.
- ^ McRobbie, Hayden; Bullen, Chris; Hartmann-Boyce, Jamie; Hajek, Peter; McRobbie, Hayden (2014). "Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation and reduction". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 12 (12): CD010216. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub2. hdl:2292/27824. PMID 25515689.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
WHO2016was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "E-cigarettes: an emerging public health consensus". UK: Public Health England. 15 September 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
FDA2016was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
BalsBoyd2019was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
CDC2019was invoked but never defined (see the help page).