E-cigarette flavourings and misleading adverts should be banned to protect the health of young people, a group of leading international doctors says today.
In The European Respiratory Journal today (31 May), the respiratory experts publish their statement of evidence-based recommendations on e-cigarettes.
The authors include doctors and scientists from six continents, known as The Forum of International Respiratory Societies.
In this latest statement, they say there is mounting evidence that e-cigarettes damage health and are highly addictive.
Their comments fly in the face of policy in the UK, where official advice is that e-cigarettes are an acceptable way to help smokers reduce their risk.
They made their statement as the world marked No Tobacco Day.
Manufacturers should not be marketing them as ‘healthier’ cigarettes, the experts write, as this is increasing their popularity among children and adolescents, who are "highly susceptible to nicotine addiction".
Co-author Dr Thomas Ferkol of Washington University in St. Louis, USA, says: "Until recently, the risks of e-cigarettes and their rising popularity with children and adolescents were under-recognised or ignored. We wrote this statement to address growing public health concerns over e-cigarette use among youths.
"Product design, flavours, marketing, and perception of safety and acceptability have increased the appeal of e-cigarettes to young people. These products are ‘normalising’ smoking and leading to new generations addicted to nicotine."
Professor Charlotta Pisinger adds: "Although exposure to potentially harmful ingredients from electronic cigarettes may be lower than traditional cigarettes, this does not mean that e-cigarettes are harmless.
"And when we’re talking about children and adolescents who are trying e-cigarettes for the first time, we should not be comparing their use to traditional cigarettes. We should be comparing them to no tobacco use."
E-cigarettes should be regulated in the same way as tobacco products and included in smoke-free policies, the authors urge.
The World Health Organisation today highlighted the link between tobacco and cardiovascular diseases. It says that tobacco causes three million deaths a year from these diseases.
WHO reports that the number of smokers remains at 1.1 billion globally – the same as in 2000.
Ferkol, T. W. et al. Electronic cigarette use in youths: a position statement of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies. The European Respiratory Journal 31 May 2018 doi: 10.1183/13993003.00278-2018
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