What is the truth about the harm of e-cigarettes

Since the rise of e-cigarettes in the world ten years ago, this new thing has gradually spread to the public, and the sales volume and awareness have increased significantly.

With the integration of e-cigarettes into people's daily life, the controversy about the health and safety of e-cigarettes also follows.

In the view of one party who holds the "harmful theory of e-cigarette", e-cigarette is harmful to human body, even "several times higher than the cancer causing rate of cigarette". However, in the view of the other party, "e-cigarette is 95% less harmful than cigarette" and "it can help the addicts to quit smoking" show a positive attitude.

The parties can not agree on all kinds of disputes. Among all countries in the world, the attitude of the UK has always been optimistic. It not only supports the promotion of e-cigarettes, but also continues to produce research reports to dispel consumers' doubts about e-cigarettes.

Recently, an article published on the official website of cancer research center of the UK mentions that "e-cigarette has significant harm reducing effect" has become a broad consensus of public health institutions and researchers around the world.

For the problem of inducing cancer, it said that more and more evidence shows that e-cigarettes can effectively help smokers quit smoking.

In addition, as for the controversy about the "entry effect" of e-cigarettes, it said that there was no data to show that e-cigarettes "induced" teenagers and non-smokers to smoke. Taking the UK as an example, the popularity of e-cigarettes has not affected the downward trend of smoking rate among teenagers.

Cancer Research UK is one of the largest independent cancer research charities in the world. It has long been conducting cutting-edge research on global cancer research, and carrying out social activities to raise public awareness and influence public policies. Its judgment on e-cigarettes has certain authority.

However, it is also mentioned in the article that the long road of scientific research and 10 years of search are still short. "We are talking about the issue of e-cigarettes today, and the complexity is far more than before."

In the chaos of rumors and disputes, how should people understand e-cigarettes?

Is electronic cigarette safe?

Compared with the rising wave of e-cigarettes in China, e-cigarettes have been popularized for 10 years in the UK. As a country with relatively perfect global health care system and relatively leading healthcare research, the UK is promoting e-cigarettes to the public as much as possible.

As early as three years ago, the number of e-cigarette users in the UK exceeded 3 million. According to a survey by action on smoking and health in the UK, the number of e-cigarette users in the UK exceeded 3 million for the first time in 2018, four times the number in 2012, BBC News reported.

In the UK, about 12000 people Google "is e-cigarettes safe" every month, according to Cancer Research UK. The reason is that most of the e-cigarette information on the market is mixed, and it is difficult to distinguish the true from the false. The mass media lack of scientific experiments and data support for the spread of e-cigarette harm, which aggravates the concern of consumers.

For example, before the "e-cigarette lung disease" has caused controversy. In 2019, US media reported that there were thousands of "e-cigarette lung disease" cases in the United States, resulting in nearly 70 deaths. It was later confirmed that the culprit was vitamin E acetate in illegal THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) products, which was not found in regular nicotine e-cigarettes.

And "e-cigarette lung disease" is a rumor created by using false news.

In 2020, the CDC clarified the rumor of "e-cigarette lung disease" and withdrew the improper proposal of "advising the public not to use e-cigarettes".

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Is e-cigarette harmful?

The principle of electronic smoke is to form smoke by atomizing the smoke oil. Many previous studies have shown that e-cigarette smoke is harmful, but Cancer Research UK believes that these studies are often based on animals or cells, rather than clinical research based on human body.

The concentration of e-cigarette smoke used in the study is much higher than that of people in real life. This kind of research is only suitable for exploring the potential impact of e-cigarettes, not for evaluating the actual impact of e-cigarettes on the body.

In addition, as for the harmful components of e-cigarettes, according to the previous who report, the order of harmful components is as follows: traditional cigarettes > iqos heated non combustible tobacco products > electronic nicotine delivery system.

This also means that e-cigarette contains nicotine, but it does not contain tobacco and does not produce tar. The harm of e-cigarette is far less than that of cigarette.

Cancer Research UK also stressed this point: after smokers switch to e-cigarettes, the level of harmful chemicals they are exposed to is significantly reduced, similar to the use of nicotine replacement therapy (such as nicotine patches, nicotine gum, etc.). At the same time, there is not enough evidence to show that e-cigarettes have the problem of second-hand smoke.

E-cigarette is still a new thing. Exploring the long-term effects of e-cigarette on the body is by no means an overnight effort. However, Cancer Research UK believes that a large number of studies over the past few decades have confirmed that "tobacco is seriously harmful to human health", and "e-cigarette has significant harm reducing effect" is beyond doubt.

Why does the UK encourage the use of e-cigarettes instead of cigarettes?

Quitting smoking is one of the main purposes of the invention of e-cigarette, but some people doubt that replacing cigarettes with e-cigarette is another "trap".

Among the controversies, the British government's action to encourage smokers to use e-cigarettes has never stopped, because the UK has been pursuing a smoke-free plan: to phase out combustible cigarettes by 2030, let smokers completely quit smoking or switch to nicotine delivery systems with lower risks, such as e-cigarettes.

"Smoking is the main cause of many kinds of cancer," said Linda bauld, prevention consultant at Cancer Research UK and professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh According to the research, smoking is the first cancer causing factor, which is related to at least 15 different types of cancer.

The British government has listed e-cigarettes as one of the ways to assist smoking cessation, and even introduced e-cigarette shops into hospitals. Of course, when the British government implemented e-cigarette assisted smoking cessation, it has been carrying out scientific research on e-cigarette, establishing a perfect e-cigarette regulatory system, and strictly controlling the nicotine content.

More and more data show that e-cigarettes are helping smokers quit smoking.

A study of e-cigarette use and smoking cessation in England estimated that e-cigarettes helped about 18000 people quit smoking for a long time in 2015, the cancer research centre said.

A few months ago, the British Department of public health released the "update of evidence 2021 of the British Department of public health" also mentioned that e-cigarette products are the most commonly used auxiliary means for those who try to quit smoking in the UK in 2020, with 50000-70000 people quitting smoking through e-cigarette every year.

Some people think that there are hidden dangers in smokers switching to e-cigarettes. When smokers use cigarettes and e-cigarettes at the same time, the harm may be greater than when they only use cigarettes. However, the British cancer research center said that there is no evidence for this at present. In order to effectively improve the health status, it is undoubtedly the best choice for smokers to completely switch to e-cigarettes.

The official website of cancer research centre of UK lists e-cigarette as one of the assistant ways to quit smoking

Moreover, the popularization of e-cigarettes may reduce social inequality. According to Cancer Research UK, many experts pointed out that although the overall smoking rate in the UK continues to decline, the smoking rate of the poor is still much higher than that of the rich.

Studies have shown that low-income smokers are more likely to switch to e-cigarettes, which means that e-cigarettes have the potential to help low-income communities improve the rate of smoking cessation.

However, at present, the relevant research on e-cigarette can assist smokers to quit smoking is relatively limited. Cancer research center of UK calls for strengthening the research on the effect of e-cigarette on quitting smoking, such as the different effects of different types of e-cigarette, nicotine concentration and flavor (fruit flavor, mint flavor, etc.).

Will e-cigarettes induce non-smokers to "smoke"?

When smokers switch to e-cigarettes, will non-smokers and even teenagers be induced to take their "first puff"?

This is also known as the "entry effect" problem of e-cigarettes, that is, e-cigarettes can induce teenagers and non-smokers to smoke.

However, in the UK, where e-cigarettes are vigorously promoted, the situation is more optimistic than people think《 In the report "e-cigarette use in the UK: evidence update 2021", a group of survey data from tobacco and health action show that in 2020, non-smokers account for only 2.9% of the adult e-cigarette users in the UK, and smokers account for 97.1%, accounting for an absolute large proportion.

This also means that the vast majority of users of e-cigarettes in the UK are still smokers, and e-cigarettes are not the "first puff" of non-smokers.

In British teenagers, the "entry effect" of e-cigarettes is not obvious.

Cancer Research UK said that although the number of teenagers trying to use e-cigarettes has increased in recent years, frequent use of e-cigarettes is still very rare in the UK. In 2020, a survey of 11-18 year olds in the UK showed that among 1926 people who never smoked, "no one uses e-cigarettes every day.".

Another hidden danger is that teenagers who have tried e-cigarettes are more likely to smoke cigarettes in the future?

Cancer Research UK mentioned that it is difficult to make clear the causal relationship: some teenagers smoke first and then use e-cigarettes; Some teenagers, pointed out by experts, "are more willing to try dangerous behaviors such as drinking and smoking". They are active smokers rather than passive smokers induced by e-cigarettes.

Since the popularization of e-cigarettes in the UK, the smoking rate and acceptance of smoking among teenagers have decreased significantly. This can at least prove that the popularization of e-cigarettes has not affected the downward trend of the smoking rate of teenagers“ At the same time, there is no evidence that e-cigarettes can induce teenagers to smoke. " Cancer Research UK said.

Photo source: Cancer Research UK website

Based on the above scientific research, some facts have been proved: smoking is the leading culprit of cancer, and most British research institutions believe that e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes; E-cigarette can be used as an important way to help smokers quit smoking; Nicotine in e-cigarettes is addictive to some extent and should not be used by non-smokers, especially minors. However, there is no evidence in the UK that the promotion of e-cigarettes induces the "entry effect" of non-smokers.

E-cigarette is still a new thing, and the public's concerns need to be solved by more professional institutions.

Cancer Research UK also mentioned that e-cigarette is a new thing and is constantly developing. The current decade is still short.

This emerging industry also needs to continue to explore the boundaries, including the control of sales channels, the crackdown on the production and sale of counterfeit goods, and the implementation of regulatory rules. With the efforts of all parties, the e-cigarette industry will develop in a better direction.