|
 Researchers found that people who switched from smoking regular
cigarettes to e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)
such as gum or patches for at least six months had much lower levels
of toxins in their saliva and urine than those who continued to
smoke.
"Our study adds to existing evidence showing that e-cigarettes and
NRT are far safer than smoking, and suggests that there is a very
low risk associated with their long-term use," said Lion Shahab, a
specialist in epidemiology and public health at University College
London who led the work.
E-cigarettes, which heat nicotine-laced liquid into vapor, have
grown into an $8 billion-a-year market, according to Euromonitor
International - more than three times that of NRT products. They
are, however, still dwarfed by a tobacco market estimated by
Euromonitor to be worth around $700 billion.
Many health experts think e-cigarettes, or vapes, which do not
contain tobacco, are a lower-risk alternative to smoking and
potentially a major public health tool.
But some question their long-term safety and worry that they may act
as a "gateway" to taking up conventional cigarettes. The U.S.
surgeon general in December urged lawmakers to impose price and tax
policies that would discourage their use.
Monday's study, published in the journal Annals of Internal
Medicine, analyzed saliva and urine samples from long-term
e-cigarette and NRT users as well as smokers, and compared levels of
key chemicals found in their bodies.
It found that smokers who switched completely to e-cigarettes or NRT
had significantly lower levels of toxic chemicals and carcinogens
compared to people who continued to smoke tobacco cigarettes.
[to top of second column] |
Those who used e-cigarettes or NRT but did not completely quit
smoking did not show the same drop in toxin levels. This underlined
that a complete switch was needed to get the long-term health
benefits of quitting tobacco, the researchers said.
The World Health Organization says tobacco is the world's biggest
preventable killer, with a predicted cumulative death toll of a
billion by the end of this century if current trends continue.
Tobacco smoking currently kills around 6 million people a year.
Kevin Fenton, national director of health and wellbeing at the
government authority Public Health England, said the findings held a
clear message for tobacco smokers.
"Switching to e-cigarettes can significantly reduce harm to smokers,
with greatly reduced exposure to carcinogens and toxins," he said in
a statement. "The findings also make clear that the benefit is only
realized if people stop smoking completely and make a total switch.
"The best thing a smoker can do, for themselves and those around
them, is to quit now, completely and forever."
(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
