New study sends smoke signals on e-cigarettes

31 July 2014 - 02:03 By Claire Keeton
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E-cigarettes-more-or-less-effective-than-nicotine-patches-in-study.jpg
E-cigarettes-more-or-less-effective-than-nicotine-patches-in-study.jpg

The potential of e-cigarettes to reduce disease and save lives outweighs the potential harm, a new review of all studies finds.

"E-cigarettes are much safer than conventional cigarettes and the potential benefits could be huge. This could be a revolution in public health," said the lead author, Professor Peter Hajek from the Queen Mary University of London.

"Regulating e-cigarettes more strictly than conventional cigarettes would be detrimental to public health. The long term health effects of vaping are not yet known but any health risks are  likely to be a small fraction of the risks of smoking," said Hajek, director of the Tobacco Dependency Unit.

The popularity of e-cigarettes, which deliver a nicotine hit through a heated solution of nicotine, water vapour and chemicals considered safer for inhalation (vegetable glycerine or propylene glycol) than tobacco, is growing among smokers in South Africa.

The ritual of “vaping” has more in common with smoking than  nicotine replacement therapies like patches.

Hajek said: “If nicotine can be used without absorbing dangerous chemicals, it would not be that different from drinking coffee."

Rachel Wrigglesworth, head of Clicks Healthcare, said: “Clicks first started selling e-cigarettes in December 2010. Consumers have become more health conscious and in line with this trend we have seen an increase in sales of e-cigarettes over the last 12 months.”

Clicks sells a single brand, roughly the size of a fountain pen, but e-cigarettes come in different brands, models and even flavours like  cherry.

Their opponents  argue that nicotine is addictive , e-cigarettes could “re-normalise smoking” and the long-term risks are not known.

Published yesterday in the journal Addiction, the review  —  which assessed the 81 studies with original data on the topic — concluded that “regulating e-cigarettes as strictly as cigarettes, or even more strictly...is not warranted on current evidence."

"If an ingredient is discovered that causes harm, this can then be regulated," said Hajek.

The authors recommended: “Health professionals may consider advising smokers unable or unwilling to quit through other routes to switch to e-cigarettes.”. The review reported that e-cigarettes enabled “some users to reduce or quite smoking”.

Dr Yusuf Salojee,  executive director of the National Council Against Smoking, said it is too early to assess their impact. “With e-cigarettes the genie is out of the bottle prematurely. The evidence on the harmfulness, or lack of harm, is not yet in,” he said.

Salojee pointed out that low-tar cigarettes were found to be no safer than conventional brands in the long run.

He also expressed concerned that they could be a gateway to smoking since children imitate adult behaviour. “The risk is that young people will start smoking,” he said referring, for example, to a study that showed the increasing use of e-cigarettes among teens in Miami.

The review found “no evidence of regular use of e-cigarettes by never-smokers or by non-smoking children”.

Nicotine is a drug which should not be freely accessed by children said Gabriel Eksteen, a dietician at the Heart and Stroke Foundation SA.

He added: “E-cigarettes are not a pure nicotine product. They have added substances and combustible chemicals which could be a safety concern. But they could be a viable alternative to tobacco products.” 

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