Does e-cigarette help to quit smoking?

The Global Electronic Cigarette Summit has just ended in the UK, and some interesting and powerful trends are emerging all over the world.

Of the 8 million deaths caused by tobacco each year, nearly 80% come from smoking, and almost 20,000 die every day. Experts are now pushing for a smoke-free world.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is in the middle of this great tobacco debate. Experts agree that only by strengthening WHO's goal of reducing tobacco can WHO's goal of preventing chronic diseases can be continued.

So what should the WHO do? It must immediately focus on reducing harm. It is here that the summit put forward a very effective point: "But under the influence of Bloomberg, the WHO discourages e-cigarette products.

In fact, some preliminary research studies have shown that e-cigarettes are beneficial to smoking cessation, but the certainty is low. And now, it has turned to moderate certainty. The reason for only moderate certainty is the small number of studies.

Speakers at the summit believed that there is no clear evidence that e-cigarettes are harmful, but it should be noted that the longest research period is 2 years, and the number of studies since then is very small. There is no doubt that the world needs more data. There are two different ways to test whether e-cigarettes help smokers quit smoking: e-cigarettes compared with NRT, and nicotine e-cigarettes compared with non-nicotine e-cigarettes. Both show a significant increase in the number of people who quit smoking.

It’s also very, very surprising that people’s perceptions of the dangers of e-cigarettes are on the rise year after year, but the evidence is moving in the opposite direction—more and more evidence shows that e-cigarettes are more harmful than smoking. It’s small and can help people get rid of it completely.

I think this is the real problem, the real problem, the real crisis. What went wrong? Are the results of publicly funded research not in the hands of the public?

The biggest crisis is the harm of smoking. Doctors argue that cigarettes kill people more than Covid-19, however, cigarettes can still be found in shops and department stores. The speaker at the summit talked about this issue. "The dangers of smoking are well known, and all the pros and cons from e-cigarettes are new, so exciting. Every time we talk about e-cigarettes, especially when we talk about new evidence, we need to talk about the harms of smoking. "

Professor Emeritus Robert West of University College London emphasized the need to eliminate the application of the principle of competing interests in e-cigarette research. "Why should we conduct tobacco research? Reduce disease and premature death. If we can't quit smoking, then we want to reduce the harm caused by smoking. If we allow prejudice, then we have not done our job correctly. Therefore, we Every effort must be made to reduce the harm caused by prejudice,"

So what is the answer? The summit spokesperson said: “A serious and coordinated global response is needed through strong, independent evidence, science-based policies, and transparent discussions on risk and progress monitoring.”

Well-thought-out rules are creating barriers between smokers and safer nicotine substitutes. Problems arise when regulators who do not have a deep understanding of the product formulate regulations for the product.