According to Cancer Research UK, "For a smoker, the health hazards of continuing to smoke greatly outweigh any potential risks of using nicotine replacement therapy".
A recent Greek study found that e-cigarettes are no threat to the heart. Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos of the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens told the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology that
"Electronic cigarettes are not a healthy habit but they are a safer
alternative to tobacco cigarettes. ... Considering the extreme hazards
associated with cigarette smoking, currently available data suggest that
electronic cigarettes are far less harmful and substituting tobacco
with electronic cigarettes may be beneficial to health." Farsalinos and
his team examined the heart function of 20 young smokers before and
after smoking one tobacco cigarette against that of 22 e-cigarette users
before and after using the device for seven minutes.
While the tobacco smokers suffered significant heart dysfunction, including raised blood
pressure and heart rate, those using e-cigarettes had only a slight
elevation in blood pressure. The Greek clinical study was the first in
the world to look at the cardiac effects of e-cigarettes. Another small
study, also in Greece, reported earlier in 2012 the devices had little
impact on lung function.
A report from a UK Government advisory unit favoured the adoption of
"smokeless nicotine cigarettes" over the traditional "quit or die"
approach, believing this would save more lives.
While electronic cigarettes may deliver nicotine to the user in a
manner similar to that of a nicotine inhaler, no electronic cigarette
has yet been approved as a medicinal nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)
product or subjected to the necessary clinical testing for such
approval. Doubts have even been raised as to whether electronic
cigarettes actually deliver any substantial amount of nicotine.
Research carried out at the University of East London on
the effects of using an electronic cigarette to reduce cravings in
regular tobacco smokers showed that there was no significant reported
difference between smokers who inhaled vapour containing nicotine and
those who inhaled a placebo vapour containing no nicotine. The report
concluded that although electronic cigarettes can be effective in
reducing nicotine-related withdrawal symptoms, the nicotine content does
not appear to be of central importance, and other smoking related cues
(such as taste or vapour resembling smoke) may account for the reduction
in discomfort associated with tobacco abstinence in the short term.
Though some manufacturers have marketed electronic cigarettes as an alternative to smoking cigarettes the World Health Organization has stated they know of no evidence confirming these claims.
In an online survey from November 2009 among 303 smokers, it was
found that e-cigarette substitution for tobacco cigarettes resulted in
reduced perceived health problems when compared to smoking conventional
cigarettes (less cough, improved ability to exercise, improved sense of
taste and smell).
Trace amounts of 'volatile organic compounds', namely formaldehyde, as well as traces of ketones, mercury and
tetramethylpyrazine, have been found in electronic cigarette vapour,
but the quantities are significantly smaller than the quantities found
in tobacco smoke and do not pose a significant health risk.
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