THR Statements

All statements are hyperlinked to original documents. >35 organizations say “SAFER than smoking.”[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_7a481905bdabd2c2.png bottom]World Health Organization EURO Office: “Thereis conclusive evidence that: Completely substituting electronicnicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems for combustible tobaccocigarettes reduces users’ exposure to numerous toxicants andcarcinogens present in combustible tobacco cigarettes.”

International Agency for Research on Cancer: “Theuse of e-cigarettes is expected to have a lower risk of disease anddeath than tobacco smoking… E-cigarettes have the potential toreduce the enormous burden of disease and death caused by tobaccosmoking if most smokers switch to e-cigarettes.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_1b5c55f049f30bf5.png bottom]Cochrane systematic review: “Wefound 50 studies in 12,430 adults who smoked… The studies tookplace in the USA (21 studies), UK (9), Italy (7), Australia (2), NewZealand (2), Greece (2) and one study each in Belgium, Canada,Poland, South Korea, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey.”FINDINGS:“Moderate certainty” that “e-cigarettes with nicotine increasequit rates compared to e-cigarettes without nicotine, and compared tonicotine replacement therapy [nicotine patches & gum… We didnot detect any clear evidence of harm from nicotine e-cigarettes”[up to 2 years]].”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_a0548a0d52b03426.png bottom]Public Health England: “Ournew review reinforces the finding that vaping is a fraction of therisk of smoking, at least 95% less harmful, and of negligible risk tobystanders. Yet over half of smokers either falsely believe thatvaping is as harmful as smoking or just don’t know.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_5bff3fffb7427490.png bottom]Royal College of Physicians: “Althoughit is not possible to precisely quantify the long-term health risksassociated with e-cigarettes, the available data suggest that theyare unlikely to exceed 5% of those associated with smoked tobaccoproducts, and may well be substantially lower than this figure…E-cigarettes are effective in helping people to stop smoking.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_598db578a2cee568.png bottom]National Institute for Health and Care Excellence: “Theevidence suggests that e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful tohealth than smoking but are not risk free. Many people have foundthem helpful to quit smoking cigarettes.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_dabccb8e3c1d331a.png bottom]British Medical Association: “Significantnumbers of smokers are using e-cigarettes (electronic cigarettes),with many reporting that they are helpful in quitting or cutting downcigarette use. There are clear potential benefits to their use inreducing the substantial harms associated with smoking, and a growingconsensus that they are significantly less harmful than tobacco use.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_49a5df33bae2db03.png bottom]Cancer Research UK: “Whilethe long-term health consequences of e-cigarette use are uncertain,the evidence so far suggests that e-cigarettes are far less harmfulthan smoking. ...There is also growing evidence to suggest thate-cigarettes can work successfully as an aid to cessation. …Thereis insufficient evidence to support a blanket indoor ban one-cigarette use, either on the basis of renormalisation of smoking orharm to bystanders from second-hand vapour.”[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_69a426a8224c4e50.png bottom]British Lung Foundation: “Expertshave reviewed all the research done on e-cigarettes over the past fewyears, and found no significant risks for people using e-cigarettes. ...Swapping cigarettes for an e-cig can improve your symptoms of lungconditions like asthma and COPD.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_29f909e9d24ba098.png bottom]Royal College of General Practitioners: “Theevidence so far shows that e-cigarettes have significantly reducedlevels of key toxicants compared to cigarettes, with average levelsof exposure falling well below the thresholds for concern.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_7473f9a7ceaeeb5f.png bottom]Royal Society for Public Health: “RSPHhas welcomed a new comprehensive evidence review on e-cigarettespublished by Public Health England (PHE). The report reflects anup-to-date evidence base that is increasingly pointing in the samedirection: not only that vaping is at least 95% less harmful thansmoking, but also that it is helping increasing numbers of smokers toquit.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_a290328394afb8a2.png bottom]Stroke Association UK: “Currentevidence shows that the risk to health posed by e-cigarettes in theshort term is likely to be considerably less compared to smoking.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_3dc9120068dc83b.png bottom]Action on Smoking and Health UK: “Ithas been estimated that e-cigarettes are 95% less harmful thanordinary cigarettes. There is negligible risk to others fromsecond-hand e-cigarette vapour. ...The lifetime cancer risk ofvaping has been assessed to be under 0.5% of the risk of smoking. [But Public understanding of the relative harms of e-cigarettes [vssmoking cigarettes] have worsened over time and are less accuratetoday than they were in 2014.]”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_3ef1301d4464ee23.png bottom]National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training: “Expertsestimate that e-cigarettes are, based on what we know so far, around95% safer than cigarettes. Smoking is associated with a number ofvery serious health risks to both the smoker and to others aroundthem. Therefore, smokers who switch from smoking tobacco toe-cigarettes substantially reduce a major risk to their health....Nicotine does not cause smoking related diseases, such as cancersand heart disease.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_ffa345863d98e7b8.png bottom]National Health Service Scotland consensus statement on e-cigarettes: “Smokingkills. Helping people to stop smoking completely is our priority. …There is now agreement based on the current evidence that vapinge-cigarettes is definitely less harmful than smoking tobacco.”This statement was created and endorsed by: Action on Smoking & Health Scotland • Cancer Research UK • Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland • Chief Medical Officer for Scotland • NHS Ayrshire and Arran • NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde • NHS Lothian • NHS Tayside • Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation • Royal College of General Practitioners • Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh • Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow • Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland • Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy • Scottish Consultants in Dental Health • Scottish Thoracic Society • UK Centre for Tobacco & Alcohol Studies • University of Edinburgh • University of Stirling

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_1afcfe7142c5ebc9.png bottom]New Zealand Ministry of Health: “TheMinistry considers vaping products could disrupt inequities andcontribute to Smokefree 2025. The evidence on vaping productsindicates they carry much less risk than smoking cigarettes but arenot risk free. Evidence is growing that vaping can help people toquit smoking. There is no international evidence that vapingproducts are undermining the long-term decline in cigarette smokingamong adults and youth, and may in fact be contributing to it.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_24f85310b5cb58d9.png bottom]Cancer Society of New Zealand: “E-cigarettesand smokeless tobacco products are less harmful than tobaccosmoking.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_7f5f1e90da0bd313.png bottom]Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP): “Researchin Australia shows that 70% of people with schizophrenia and 61% ofpeople with bipolar disorder smoke compared to 16% of those withoutmental illness. …RANZCP recognises the potential harm reductionbenefits presented by e-cigarettes and vaporisers for people livingwith mental illness, and the need for legislative reform for these tobe realised. The RANZCP therefore recommends: Exemption ofnicotine-containing e-cigarettes and vaporisers from the restrictionsimposed under the Poisons Standard so that they may be subject tostringent and suitable regulations as consumer products [and lowerrates of taxation for e-cigarettes and vaporisers compared tosmokable tobacco products to ensure affordability for low-incomesmokers, and to provide a financial incentive to switch].”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_afc4fd7e248bd3e3.png bottom]Drug and Alcohol Nurses of Australasia: “Peoplewith drug and alcohol dependence have highsmokingrates [and are more likely to die from a tobacco-related diseasethan from their primary drug problem. E-cigarettes arebattery-operated devices that heat a liquid solution, which may ormay not contain nicotine into a vapour for inhalation, simulating thebehavioural and sensory aspects of smoking, and they are currentlyseen as a legitimate form of tobacco harm reduction].”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_9615a02df3f7fc8f.jpg bottom]Royal Australian College of Physicians: “TheRACP acknowledges that e-cigarettes may have a potential role intobacco harm reduction and smoking cessation for smokers unable orunwilling to quit.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_3fae28c626911bcf.png bottom]German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment: “Accordingto current knowledge, e-cigarettes are less harmful than conventionaltobacco products when used as intended.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_53a2a795647b3b8.png bottom]French National Academy of Medicine: “Itis established that the vaporette is less dangerous than thecigarette… It is therefore preferable for a smoker to vape. Since2016, the High Authority for Health (HAS) considers it ‘as an aidto stop or reduce the consumption of tobacco by smokers.’ SantéPublique France indicates that at least 700,000 [French smokers havequit using electronic cigarettes. ...Smokers who were about to switchto vaporizing instead of tobacco should not hesitate…]” [Google Translate from original French]

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_6ad6101eafe7576d.png bottom]French National Academy of Pharmacy: “TheWorld Health Organization’s [anti-e-cigarette position isincomprehensible. Tobacco is responsible for 73,000 deaths inFrance. The e-cigarette helps people quit smoking. Its componentsare obviously less harmful than tobacco.]” [NOTE: This is a Tweet from the Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Not an official position statement.]

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_737217bec1502b9.gif bottom]US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine: “Whilee-cigarettes are not without health risks, they are likely to be farless harmful than combustible tobacco cigarettes. There issubstantial evidence that... exposure to potentially toxic substancesfrom e-cigarettes is significantly lower compared with combustibletobacco cigarettes.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_4fa2762d2f9442aa.png bottom]US Food & Drug Administration: “Makeno mistake. We see the possibility for ENDS products likee-cigarettes to provide a potentially less harmful alternative forcurrently addicted individual adult smokers who still want to getaccess to satisfying levels of nicotine without many of the harmfuleffects that come with the combustion of tobacco.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_cb9a9f9852d48523.jpg bottom]US Centers for Disease Control: “E-cigaretteshave the potential to benefit adult smokers who are not pregnant ifused as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes and other smokedtobacco products.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_40771489b23953e1.png bottom]American Cancer Society: “Basedon currently available evidence, using current generatione-cigarettes is less harmful than smoking cigarettes.” [NOTE: This was the official statement from 2018-2019. As of November2019, ACS no longer recommends e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool. Their stated reason for this change was “e-cigarette use by young people.” Yet their new statement still says, “former smokers now using e-cigarettes should not revert to smoking.” So, obviously, ecigs are LESS HARMFUL.]

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_2812601031ef4a1e.png bottom]American Heart Association: “Participantswho vaped exclusively showed a similar inflammatory and oxidativestress profile as people who did not smoke cigarettes or usee-cigarettes. ...Compared to participants who smoked exclusively,those who vaped exclusively had significantly lower levels of almostall inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_72598139af7b6d79.png bottom]American Association of Public Health Physicians: “Smoke-freetobacco/nicotine products, as available on the American market, whilenot risk-free, carry substantially less risk of death and may beeasier to quit than cigarettes. ...Smokers who have tried, butfailed to quit using medical guidance and pharmaceutical products,and smokers unable or uninterested in quitting, should considerswitching to a less hazardous smoke-free tobacco/nicotine product foras long as they feel the need. Such products include pharmaceuticalNicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) products used, off-label, on along term basis, electronic “e” cigarettes, dissolvables (sticks,strips and orbs), snus, other forms of moist snuff, and chewingtobacco.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_6eef46d956bfbd59.png bottom]Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: “E-cigarettescould benefit public health if they help significantly reduce thenumber of people who use combustible cigarettes and die oftobacco-related disease.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_754b89f8653ea1ae.png bottom]Government of Canada: “Vapingis less harmful than smoking. Completely replacing cigarettesmoking with vaping will reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals. There are short-term general health improvements if you completelyswitch from smoking cigarettes to vaping products.”

[file:///lu1208017vn1qoq_tmp_3e642e160ed3c4d5.png bottom]Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation: “Emergingevidence demonstrates that e-cigarettes are less harmful thanconventional cigarettes. Through the legalization of e-cigarettescontaining nicotine, there is improved access to e-cigarettes forcurrent smokers, therefore allowing adults more choice aroundalternative methods of nicotine intake and/or tobacco cessation. ...Those unable to quit smoking would be better off usinge-cigarettes over the long-term, rather than continuing to smokeregular cigarettes.”