LONDON -- British researchers say electronic cigarettes could save 6,000 lives per year for every million smokers, a claim that has reignited the debate over the health impact of vaping, according to an ABC News report.
In an editorial published in the British Journal of General Practice, the research team from University London College argued that the public-health community was jumping the gun in their rush to regulate e-cigarettes the same as tobacco products.
“Given that smokers smoke primarily for the nicotine but die primarily from the tar, one might imagine that e-cigarettes would be welcomed as a means to prevent much of the death and suffering caused by cigarettes,” they wrote, according to ABC.
The editorial adds to a growing controversy in the scientific community about the safety of e-cigarettes. Just last week the World Health Organization called for a ban on e-cigarettes in public spaces, a move endorsed by more than a dozen public-health groups calling for tighter regulations of “vaping” products.
But in an open letter to the WHO back in May, more than 50 researchers cautioned against overregulation, asking the organization to “resist the urge to control and suppress e-cigarettes.” The devices could be a significant health innovation and classifying them as tobacco will do more harm than good, the letter stated.
But the science on e-cigs as a smoking cessation tool is mixed. Earlier this year, the UCL team found that smokers were about 60% more likely to quit if they used e-cigarettes, the report said. But other studies have found that smokers who switched to e-cigarettes were less likely or no more likely to quit smoking than if they used a patch or gum.
Click here to read the complete ABC News report. And click here to read the editorial in the British Journal of General Practice.
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