Elsevier

Preventive Medicine

Volume 66, September 2014, Pages 65-67
Preventive Medicine

Commentary
Electronic cigarettes: The road ahead

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.06.014Get rights and content

Highlights

  • e-cig are rapidly proliferating in the nicotine delivery market, worldwide.

  • Many toxicants and carcinogens present in cigarette smoke are also found in e-cig.

  • Very little is known about the health consequences of e-cig use.

  • The use of e-cig as a safe alternative to tobacco products remains controversial.

Abstract

Electronic cigarettes (e-cig) are proliferating in the world's lucrative nicotine delivery market at an alarmingly fast pace. E-cig are aggressively marketed as an alternative to conventional tobacco cigarettes, although very little is known about the health consequences of e-cig use. Chemical analysis of e-cig vapor/liquid has shown that many toxicants and carcinogens present in cigarette smoke are also found, albeit generally in lower concentrations, in a wide range of e-cig products. Notwithstanding the presence of toxicants and carcinogens in e-cig products, the biological effects of exposure to these contaminants have not been determined in e-cig users. The ongoing research and future investigations on e-cig initiation, use, perceptions, dependence, and toxicity are expected to provide empirical evidence that can be used to inform the general public, scientific community, and regulatory authorities of the health risks/benefits associated with e-cig use. This information will help stimulate scientists in the field of tobacco research, as well as assist the regulatory agencies in making scientifically based decisions on the development and evaluation of regulations on tobacco products to protect the public's health. Finding the scientific underpinnings for the health risks/benefits of e-cig use can impact millions of people who are increasingly turning to e-cig as a replacement for or complement to conventional tobacco cigarettes.

Section snippets

Role of the funding source

The sponsor of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, writing of the report, or in the decision to submit for publication. The corresponding author had full access to all the data in the study, and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.

Conflict of interest statement

All the authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

Work of the authors is supported by grants from the American Cancer Society (RSG-11-083-01-CNE) and the University of California Tobacco Related Disease Research Program (20XT-0116) to A.B.

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