E-cigarettes Safe and Recommended for Smokers, Health Authorities Say

As public health authorities increase the level of government efforts worldwide to steer people away from smoking, British doctors seemed to offer smokers a less dangerous alternative to traditionally-lit tobacco products like cigarettes in an effort to help them quit smoking for good in recently published Thursday report based on consolidated expert opinion.

The statement from the Thursday report surely stirred quite a lot of controversy given the seemingly inherent anti-smoking stance by most, if not all, public health advocates. At least in the UK, the Royal College of Physicians agreed on recommending vaping to help smokers wean off their destructive habit.

The said report titled "Nicotine without smoke: tobacco harm reduction" states that people resort to smoking due to their strong addiction to nicotine but are unfortunately harmed by toxic chemicals that come with many tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. The authors of the report brands smoking as UK's biggest but avoidable health menace responsible for a huge number of deaths, disabilities, and even 'social inequalities.'

"E-cigarettes are not a gateway to smoking. In the U.K., use of e-cigarettes is limited almost entirely to those who are already using, or have used, tobacco," the group of British experts say as reflected in their report as per NBC News.

The group further noted adding, "Among smokers, e-cigarette use is likely to lead to quit attempts that would not otherwise have happened, and in a proportion of these to successful cessation. In this way, e-cigarettes can act as a gateway from smoking."

A Better Alternative?

The 200-page report also indicates that vaping using e-cigarettes could virtually save the lives of millions of people who are deprived of the benefits of vaping due to constant but unfounded PR drive against e-cigarettes.

As reported by BBC News, e-cigarette sales have seen a steady increase since its introduction in Britain nine years ago. In fact, vaping devices have recently supplanted nicotine patches and gum as the most preferred alternative to conventional smoking cessation aid.

The British health ministry estimates that one in 20 adults in the UK now uses e-cigarettes to cut down their smoking habit. Furthermore, with the aid of the vaping device, the number of ex-smokers and current smokers on the path of quitting has also significantly risen.

However, the expert-based report in the UK apparently doesn't sit well with US health authorities. In fact, a US-led study found that use of e-cigarettes and other vaping devices by users aged 16 to 26 was linked to eight times higher odds of such people indulging or reversing to traditional smoking. America's northern neighbor, Canada, also held a similar view with most provinces adopting regulations that restrict the sale and use of e-cigarettes especially by minors.

"This is a product category that needs appropriate regulation, to prevent use by minors, and to prevent industry marketing strategies that would impede smokers from quitting altogether. We support legislation adopted to date by seven provinces that prohibits sales to minors, that prohibits use in places where smoking is banned, and that restricts promotional activities," remarked senior policy analyst Rob Cunningham of Ottawa-based Canadian Cancer Society, CBC News reported.

The current market for vaping products like e-cigarettes is roughly valued at US$7 billion worldwide as of 2015 figures.