Electronic cigarettes have a potential for huge public health benefit

BMC Medicine

Peter Hajek¹ 

[1]Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, Turner Street, London E1 2 AD, UK

关键词: Controversy;    Public health;    Nicotine;    E-cigarettes;   

Others  :  1118061
DOI  :  10.1186/s12916-014-0225-z

 received in 2014-11-04, accepted in 2014-11-05,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Although there is no doubt that smokers switching to electronic cigarettes (EC) substantially reduce the risk to their health, some tobacco control activists and health organisations discourage smokers from using EC and lobby policy makers to reduce EC use by draconian regulation.

The hostility to EC may be related to a moral belief that nicotine use should be eradicated rather than allowed to morph into a relatively harmless activity. If EC are allowed to compete with cigarettes and develop further, smoking is likely to all but disappear. Discouraging smokers from making the switch and reducing EC competitiveness with cigarettes by unwarranted regulation will delay this opportunity or squander it altogether.

In fact, there is now sufficient evidence available for health professionals to recommend to smokers who cannot stop smoking with existing treatments or do not want to do so, to try several types of e-cigarettes to see if they can find one meeting their needs.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Hajek; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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