SO IS VAPING THE SAFE ALTERNATIVE?

WE SHOULD not let studies rightly highlighting the potential dangers of e-cigarettes blind us to the fact that these devices are much, much safer than smoking tobacco.

For a smoker, moving to e-cigarettes brings a huge health benefit. The decision should be a no-brainer. When you smoke a cigarette you inhale not only nicotine but also more than 4,000 highly toxic chemicals, including carcinogens. And you inhale many of them in fairly high concentrations. So there’s nothing better you can do for your health than to quit smoking. Let’s be clear: e-cigarettes are not harmless and we shouldn’t be complacent. E-cigarette vapour contains toxic chemicals, and tiny particles that can harm lungs and blood vessels.

But in terms of the harm they cause, they simply aren’t in the same league as smoked tobacco. DO WE know what the long-term effects of regular e-cigarette use will be on human health? No – because they haven’t been around long enough.

But the evidence that is accumulating causes me very considerable concern.

For a start, nicotine is more dangerous than previously thought. It negatively affects the developing brain, helps cancer spread by encouraging the growth of blood vessels around tumours, and increases the risk of dangerous heart rhythms in those who have just had a heart attack. The flavourings in e-cigs – usually food additives – might have been tested for safety in terms of ingestion though the gut, but taking them in through the lungs after heating is completely different.

Vaping is almost certainly safer than smoking tobacco. But the limited evidence suggests using e-cigs actually reduces the chance of a smoker quitting tobacco.