Do our medical professionals have a clear understanding of safer forms of nicotine use? Does it depend on their studied curriculum and their ongoing interest in 'keeping up to date' especially with the competing demands on their time? Bullen, Walker & Lucas discuss that here Using a videotaped objective structured clinical examination to assess Knowledge In Smoking cessation amongst medical Students (the K.I.S.S. Study)

Studies

2020 Nicotine Risk Misperception Among US Physicians

Most tobacco-caused disease is not directly caused by nicotine, but rather by other chemicals present in tobacco smoke. Despite this, many misperceive nicotine as responsible for smoking-related health risks, like cancer. Overall, the majority of physicians “strongly agreed” that nicotine directly contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease (83.2%), COPD (80.9%), and cancer (80.5%).
Citation: Steinberg, M. B., Bover Manderski, M. T., Wackowski, O. A., Singh, B., Strasser, A. A., & Delnevo, C. D. (2020). Nicotine Risk Misperception Among US Physicians. Journal of General Internal Medicine. doi:10.1007/s11606-020-06172-8
Acknowledgement: This work was supported by grant 1R01CA190444-01A1 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Additionally, CDD, OAW, and AAS were supported by Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science award U54CA229973 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

One conclusion that may be drawn from the present study is that nurses appear to need additional education regarding reduced risk products. Nurse beliefs about nicotine replacement may make them less likely to recommend these products to their patients. For example, only 28% of nurses correctly believed that the nicotine patch did not cause heart attacks, and almost 59% stated that nicotine is a cause of cancer.
Our data indicate that, although nurses are in an ideal position to motivate people who smoke to quit or to assist them with quitting, their knowledge about the risks of smoking and how harm can be reduced may not be accurate.
PDF Version
Citation: Borrelli B, Novak SP. Nurses' knowledge about the risk of light cigarettes and other tobacco "harm reduction" strategies. Nicotine Tob Res. 2007 Jun;9(6):653-61. doi: 10.1080/14622200701365202. PMID: 17558822.

"Government fearmongering and crackdowns on nicotine vaping products have likely contributed to widespread ignorance about the difference between the harms of tobacco and nicotine."
Similar Information in Rutgers EDU
"Most physicians mistakenly believe that nicotine leads to cancer, and heart and respiratory diseases, according to a Rutgers-led national survey, even though it is the toxic substances in cigarette smoke and not the nicotine that causes the primary health risk."
Same story in Medical Xpress

“Although we have evidence to show that e-cigarettes are a substantially less harmful alternative to smoking tobacco for cancer patients, this survey highlights that not all health professionals know this. They are unsure how to talk to cancer patients who smoke about e-cigarettes. It also suggests that doctors and nurses need better information and clearer policies to guide their discussions with patients.”