Report shows positive correlation between e-cigarette use and cessation rates in the UK

  * Smoking is harmful to health, minors are prohibited from using e-cigarettes, non-smokers are not recommended to use e-cigarettes*

Recently, the international authoritative medical institution – the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) released the latest report “Review of the evidence for harm reduction of electronic cigarettes.” According to the report, there is conclusive evidence that e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes, and the evidence that e-cigarettes can be used to quit smoking is increasingly strong, and public health agencies should promote e-cigarettes to smokers based on scientific facts.
Founded in 1518, the RCP is the oldest medical school in the UK and has repeatedly provided medical advice to the British government. Smoking and Health 2021: Is the Age of Tobacco Control Coming? In the report, the RCP has highlighted the potential of e-cigarettes to aid quitting tobacco. In this report, “smoking cessation with electronic cigarettes” has become the core keyword.
According to the report, there is high-quality research evidence that e-cigarettes can be used to quit smoking and are more effective than nicotine replacement therapies commonly used in hospitals. Smokers are more willing to accept e-cigarettes than other smoking cessation methods, and even if smokers who do not have a smoking cessation program switch to e-cigarettes, their daily cigarette use will gradually decrease.
Data show that the increase in the use of e-cigarettes in the UK is positively correlated with the increase in the success rate of smoking cessation in the UK, and e-cigarettes have become the most commonly used and most successful smoking cessation aids for British smokers.
The report also compared the harm of cigarettes and e-cigarettes in detail, and found that the content of toxic substances (such as carbon monoxide, tobacco-specific nitrosamines, etc.) in e-cigarette users was significantly lower than that of smokers, and some inflammatory indicators were almost consistent with non-smokers. “There is no doubt that switching to e-cigarettes can reduce the incidence of a disease and mortality, including lung cancer,” the authors write.
A growing number of British smokers are successfully quitting using e-cigarettes, figures show. After just a few weeks of quitting smoking, smokers’ lung function levels increased by 10 per cent and their risk of diseases such as heart disease was significantly reduced. Quitting smoking will also save each smoker around £2,000 a year, meaning local consumption will be boosted in deprived areas.
Many smokers still do not see the benefits of e-cigarettes. “The misinformation on the Internet has caused them to misunderstand e-cigarettes. It is important that public health agencies take action to give them the opportunity to learn about e-cigarettes, and in particular to correctly understand that e-cigarettes can be used to quit smoking and are less harmful.”The authors wrote in the report.
How to change prejudice? The report offers several recommendations, including printing harm reduction information on product packaging, asking doctors in smoking cessation clinics to recommend e-cigarettes to smokers, strengthening relevant research to provide data, and cracking down on illegal products. “The circulation of illegal products not only prejudices the public against regular products, but also harms minors. There are signs that sales of illegal products in the UK are growing.”The report states that regulators should target the supply chain of illegal products as the best way to do so.
Cigarette harm is serious, smoking cessation difficult. Based on the current situation of smokers in the UK, the RCP believes that moderate harm reduction programmes are more reasonable than one-size-fits-all tobacco control. “Smokers need help, and scientific evidence shows that e-cigarettes are an effective tool to help smokers quit. Public health agencies should promote e-cigarettes to smokers on the basis of not attracting non-smokers to prevent their situation from worsening.”