E-cigarettes 'should be promoted as a way to avoid smoking's health dangers'

Useful substitute: The Royal College of Physicians said e-cigarettes could help people to quit smoking
Anthony Devlin/PA
Jamie Bullen28 April 2016

E-cigarettes should be widely promoted as a substitute to smoking to help the nation’s health, a new report has concluded.

Smokers have been urged to turn to vaping after its benefits were highlighted in a study by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP).

Experts concluded e-cigarettes were not a "gateway to smoking" as most users already tried or were using tobacco while the devices helped smokers to quit the habit.

They said vaping may result in some long-term harm through inhaling substances other than nicotine but the damage was minimal when compared to smoking.

The report also stated there was need for “sensible” regulation of the devices but that it should not significantly inhibit its use.

The conclusions were made following a study of the science, regulation, ethics and public policy surrounding e-cigarettes.

Professor John Britton, chair of the RCP's Tobacco Advisory Group, said: "The growing use of electronic cigarettes as a substitute for tobacco smoking has been a topic of great controversy, with much speculation over their potential risks and benefits.

"This report lays to rest almost all of the concerns over these products, and concludes that, with sensible regulation, electronic cigarettes have the potential to make a major contribution towards preventing the premature death, disease and social inequalities in health that smoking currently causes in the UK.

“Smokers should be reassured that these products can help them quit all tobacco use forever."

RCP president Professor Jane Dacre added: "With careful management and proportionate regulation, harm reduction provides an opportunity to improve the lives of millions of people. It is an opportunity that, with care, we should take."

Alison Cox, Cancer Research UK's director of prevention, said: "This important report is an accurate summary of the latest scientific evidence on e-cigarettes and will help dispel the increasingly common misconception that they're as harmful as smoking. They're not.

"Tobacco kills more than 100,000 people in the UK every year, we should grasp every opportunity to encourage as many people as possible to stop smoking for good."

Duncan Selbie, chief executive at Public Health England, added: "The best thing a smoker can do, for themselves and those around them, is to quit completely, now and forever.

"E-cigarettes are the most popular quitting aid in England and local stop smoking services are the most effective route to giving up, we encourage smokers to combine these, giving them an extremely good chance of quitting smoking successfully."

Additional reporting by Press Association

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