Three experts from King’s College London and the public health charity Action on Smoking and Health recently addressed health professionals, seeking to dispel what they describe as “myths about e-cigarettes and vaping,” according to the Independent European Vaping Alliance (IEVA).
“E-cigarettes (vapes) are currently the most popular aid used to quit smoking in England and are used by around 4.3 million adults in Great Britain, the majority of whom are ex-smokers,” the authors stated, emphasizing that “… vaping poses only a small fraction of the health risks of smoking and that smokers should be encouraged to use vaping products … for stopping.” The experts fear that myths about vaping “risk undermining the use of these products as cessation aids.”
“The facts about harm reduction are on the table,” said Dustin Dahlmann, president of the IEVA. “If many more smokers who cannot quit by other means were to switch to e-cigarettes, millions of people worldwide could live better and longer lives. Health policy in the U.K. should be a shining example to all policymakers.”