Nicotine / THR - Statements from Organizations

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THR statements

Thank-you Charles A. Gardner, PhD for the original compilation of this list. Thank-you to the volunteers from around the world who provide statements for us to add to this collection!

"SAFER than smoking"

World Health Organization EURO Office

International Agency for Research on Cancer

Cochrane Systematic Review

Public Health England

Royal College of Physicians

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

British Medical Association

Cancer Research UK

British Lung Foundation

Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

Royal College of General Practitioners

Royal Society for Public Health

Stroke Association UK

Action on Smoking and Health UK

National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training

British Heart Foundation

National Fire Chiefs Council

London Fire Brigade

National Health Service Scotland

Health Service Executive Ireland

“The HSE cannot recommend e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid, as they are not currently regulated or approved in Ireland for that purpose. However, for those unable or unwilling to stop using nicotine, using e-cigarettes (also known as ‘vaping’) is generally regarded as less harmful than smoking tobacco. We recommend that smokers trying to quit smoking by using e-cigarettes do so in combination with approved supports." (Note: This is from a news article, not from an official policy statement)

"The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) also caution against workplace bans on e-cigarettes. HSE’s advice is that “an employer needs to consider e-cigarettes in the wider context of risk in the workplace. We are aware that some organisations have banned their use, but this is not something HSE has advised on.”

New Zealand Ministry of Health

Cancer Society of New Zealand

Royal Australian College of Physicians

Drug and Alcohol Nurses of Australasia

Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP)

German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment

French National Academy of Medicine

French National Academy of Pharmacy:

“The World Health Organization’s anti-e-cigarette position is incomprehensible. Tobacco is responsible for 73,000 deaths in France. The e-cigarette helps people quit smoking. Its components are obviously less harmful than tobacco.” (NOTE: This is a Tweet from the Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Not an official position statement.)

French National Cancer Institute:

"Early studies show that the use of e-cigarettes can reasonably be given a place in the smoking cessation system by making a pragmatic risk-reduction argument by switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes.

US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine:

“While e-cigarettes are not without health risks, they are likely to be far less harmful than combustible tobacco cigarettes. There is substantial evidence that... exposure to potentially toxic substances from e-cigarettes is significantly lower compared with combustible tobacco cigarettes.”

US Food & Drug Administration:

“Make no mistake. We see the possibility for ENDS products like e-cigarettes to provide a potentially less harmful alternative for currently addicted individual adult smokers who still want to get access to satisfying levels of nicotine without many of the harmful effects that come with the combustion of tobacco.”

US Centers for Disease Control:

“E-cigarettes have the potential to benefit adult smokers who are not pregnant if used as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products.”

American Cancer Society:

“Based on currently available evidence, using current generation e-cigarettes is less harmful than smoking cigarettes.” (NOTE: This was the official statement from 2018-2019. As ofNovember 2019, ACS no longer recommends e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool. Their stated reason for this change was “e-cigarette use by young people.” Their new statement still says, “former smokers now using e-cigarettes should not revert to smoking.”)

American Heart Association:

“Participants who vaped exclusively showed a similar inflammatory and oxidative stress profile as people who did not smoke cigarettes or use e-cigarettes. ...Compared to participants who smoked exclusively, those who vaped exclusively had significantly lower levels of almost all inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers.”

American Association of Public Health Physicians:

“Smoke-free tobacco/nicotine products, as available on the American market, while not risk-free, carry substantially less risk of death and may be easier to quit than cigarettes. ...Smokers who have tried, but failed to quit using medical guidance and pharmaceutical products, and smokers unable or uninterested in quitting, should consider switching to a less hazardous smoke-free tobacco/nicotine product for as long as they feel the need. Such products include pharmaceutical Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) products used, off-label, on a long term basis, electronic “e” cigarettes, dissolvables (sticks, strips and orbs), snus, other forms of moist snuff, and chewing tobacco.”

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK / TFKAF) :

“E-cigarettes could benefit public health if they help significantly reduce the number of people who use combustible cigarettes and die of tobacco-related disease.”

Government of Canada:

“Vaping is less harmful than smoking. Completely replacing cigarette smoking with vaping will reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals. There are short-term general health improvements if you completely switch from smoking cigarettes to vaping products.”

While evidence is still emerging, some evidence suggests that using e-cigarettes is linked to improved rates of success. While quitting cigarettes, you may go through a time when you use both cigarettes and vaping products. Switching from tobacco cigarettes to vaping will reduce your exposure to many toxic and cancer causing chemicals.

Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation:

“Emerging evidence demonstrates that e-cigarettes are less harmful than conventional cigarettes. Through the legalization of e-cigarettes containing nicotine, there is improved access to e-cigarettes for current smokers, therefore allowing adults more choice around alternative methods of nicotine intake and/or tobacco cessation. ...Those unable to quit smoking would be better off using e-cigarettes over the long-term, rather than continuing to smoke regular cigarettes.”