Electronic cigarettes, yes or no? The decision of several countries worldwide to ban electronic cigarettes, after the deaths and cases of lung diseases recorded in the USA, has triggered reactions from the scientific community, which in recent days met in London for the appointment of the 'E-cig Summit, by title "Science, Regulation & Public Health”. An opportunity for scientists, policymakers, public health and medical professionals to review the latest scientific research and evidence on e-cigarettes and to discuss harm reduction. The dominant sentiment was that of prudence, even if a harsh attack came from Simon Burns, former British health minister: "The war on e-cigarettes is wrong: in Great Britain we have shown that they work in helping smokers quit ”.
“We know – added Burns – that cigarette smoke causes enormous damage to the health system, causing illness and death. The challenge of the British Government in recent years has been to reduce the number of smokers and it has been decided to implement various initiatives including also focusing on alternative devices such as electronic cigarettes. We have become the leading country in this - recalled Burns -: in the last 30 years the percentage of smokers was stable, despite the taxation policies on cigarette packs and the introduction of the generic pack, while since the Government has chosen to use electronic cigarettes as an alternative tool, and to defend this choice even in the face of criticism, the percentage of smokers is declining”.
In this scenario, the e-cigarette market remains solid: worldwide it is estimated for 2020 at 14,4 billion dollars, but growth is however slowing down and between 2019 and 2020 "it will be almost nothing" due to the consequences of deaths and cases of lung disease recorded in the USA among young 'vapers'. Before the alarm, the growth of the sector was 14% every year. “France, Belgium and Italy are already recording a decline in sales since the crisis exploded – highlighted the experts who spoke in London -. 2019 was a dramatic year for e-cigs worldwide. The epidemic of cases in the USA has generated negative publicity for the sector and led many countries to decide to raise the alert on these devices or prohibit some types".
And the Italian situation? Apparently in our country, as well as in the rest of Europe, the risks associated with electronic cigarettes are low, but Deborah Arnott, head of Actionon Smoking and Health (ASH) urges caution: "The Italian and European authorities should continue to monitor and study the long-term impacts of the devices but what happened in the USA will not happen because the market in Europe and Italy is highly regulated. We have not yet figured out how to supervise the marketing of these products so that they are not used by minors but only by adults who would otherwise continue to smoke or who find it difficult to quit using other methods to abandon traditional cigarettes. So scientific research is essential to meet these requirements”.
