The Public Health England (PHE) has said vaping is much healthier than smoking, and there is little evidence that they act as a gateway for young people to smoke.
PHE published the evidence review, which was consistent with the agency’s previous findings that vaping is at least 95% less dangerous than smoking.
Just a few days ago, a widely reported study in the United Sates said that vaping caused cancer and DNA damage. Behind the headlines, experts point out that the doses used in the study were unrealistic.
There has been an information war about the safety of e-cigarettes, with much of the science discrediting vaping funded by the tobacco industry.
PHE found that in spite of its previous statement about the relative safety of vaping, many smokers did not consider the e-cigarettes to be a healthier alternative to cigarettes, pipes and cigars.
“It is very worrying that smokers still know very little about the dangers of smoking. When people are smoking, they inhale a lethal mix of 7,000 smoke constituents, of which 70 are thought to cause cancer,” said Prof. Ann McNeill, Professor of Tobacco Addiction at King’s College London.
“People smoke for the sake of nicotine, but contrary to what most people think, nicotine causes little harm to people’s health. The toxic smoke is the culprit and is the main cause of all tobacco-related illnesses and deaths.”
Linda Bauld, Professor of Health Policy at the University of Stirling and Chair in Behavioural Research for Cancer Prevention at Cancer Research UK, said: “People are concerned that use of e-cigarettes can lead to young people smoking.”
“But in Britain, the study clearly shows that regular use of e-cigarettes among young people who never smoke is negligible. The proportion is less than 1%. And adolescent smoking continues to decline at an encouraging speed.”
“We need to keep a close eye on these trends, but so far the data suggest that e-cigarettes are not acting as a way into smoking among young people.”
PHE’s evidence review comes just a couple of weeks after a US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report on vaping. They also found that, based on the available evidence, the danger of e-cigarettes may be far less than that of combustible tobacco cigarette.
Ryan
Ryan is a writer, editor and content creator who spends most of his time bringing the interesting, entertaining, original and well-written articles to vapers. He believes that vaping is not only a healthier alternative to smoking, but also a great experience of life.
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