Sunday, August 7, 2016

E-cigarettes may provide benefits to public health, according to a study

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E-cigarettes may provide benefits to public health, according to a study -

A modeling study by leading experts in tobacco control is that e-cigarettes may provide public health benefits on a "conservative estimate" of the probable adoption of vaping and smoking among adolescents and young adults.
The study, published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, suggests that "the recent allegations of some scientists that e-cigarettes are likely to act as a gateway to the use of tobacco products are exaggerated" says lead study author, scientist population David Levy, Ph.D., professor of oncology at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
If used instead of smoking, e -Cigarettes offer the potential to reduce harm and improve public health, said Levy. But they also have the potential to increase bad if young people who would not otherwise have smoked cigarette smokers become as a direct consequence of the first try e-CIGARETTES- the hypothesis called "gateway" which won the favor of some, he said.
"Our study shows that, given a wide range of reasonable scenarios, e- cigarettes can reduce cigarette consumption and will not lead to offset the increased damage caused by the use of e-cigarettes and more deadly cigarettes, "Levy said. "When considering the positive and negative aspects of using plausible e-cigarette, we find that vaping is likely to have a net positive impact of public health."
The team that developed the model - the US researchers, Australia and Canada - have projected a 21 percent of deaths attributable to smoking and 20 percent in the years of life lost as a result of the use of e-cigarettes among people born in 1997 or later, compared to what would have happened if e-cigarettes were not an option.
"Our model is consistent with recent evidence that, while the e-cigarette use has increased markedly, smoking among youth and young adults has dropped dramatically," Levy said.
Levy supports the decision taken recently by the Food and Drug administration of the United States to ban the use of e-cigarettes to young people under 18 "because we always want to discourage the use of all products of nicotine and cigarettes, "he said.
Levy also said that, despite their estimates of overall public health benefit of e-cigarettes, the use of youth these products should be constantly monitored, as use patterns are likely to change as the product and awareness of product changes.
While supporting FDA regulation cautious of e-cigarettes, Levy said he fears that the regulation of e-cigarettes in the same way that cigarettes will pose a burden to small businesses that lack the resources to obtain marketing approval for their products. "Overregulation e-cigarettes could actually stifle the development and commercialization of safer products that could effectively replace cigarettes," he said.


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