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The electronic or e-cigarette is now 15 years old and is extremely successful with millions of people using e-cigarettes as a much less harmful alternative to tobacco. But there is still a great need for education in society.

According to a study published in 2016 by the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center , more than six million tobacco smokers in the EU have succeeded in completely stopping their tobacco consumption with the help of e-cigarettes. Another nine million smokers have been able to at least reduce their dependence on tobacco cigarettes by using the electronic alternative. A German study from 2017 found that 99 percent of all e-cigarette users are current or former tobacco smokers.

The recipe for success of the e-cigarette, which was developed in 2003 in China, is based on a key characteristic: the significantly lower harmfulness of the product for smokers compared to the tobacco cigarette.

“The typical smoker’s cough disappears within a few weeks, the susceptibility to infection decreases massively and the physical condition improves,” explains the Graz-based toxicologist Professor Bernd Mayer. For him, the transition to the e-cigarette in terms of health improvements is comparable to stopping smoking.

95 percent less harmful — a significantly lower cancer risk

In August 2015, the British government agency Public Health England (PHE) published a landmark report on e-cigarettes . In it, PHE reported that the e-cigarette is 95 percent less harmful than the tobacco cigarette. In a further publication in early 2018, PHE added that the risk of developing cancer is 99.5 percent less with e-cigarettes than with tobacco cigarettes.

With regard to the pure smoking process, e-cigarettes are proven to contain less carcinogenic substances and are therefore much less harmful to health than it is the case with ‘real’ cigarettes” — Prof Bernhard-Michael Mayer.

What are the reasons for such a significantly lower degree of harmfulness? In his opinion written in 2016, as an appointed expert of the federal government , Professor Mayer explained the most significant difference between e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes: “As e-cigarettes do not burn, no combustion products are formed, and it is these that are responsible for potentially fatal diseases such as cancer, heart attacks, strokes and COPD.”

Clarification necessary

The proven lower degree of harmfulness of e-cigarette has not yet penetrated sufficiently into the consciousness of European society. A survey in Germany in 2017 revealed that more than half of the population believe e-cigarettes are at least as harmful as tobacco cigarettes. Comparable studies in Great Britain have come to similar conclusions. This also applies to the only relevant target group for e-cigarettes: adult smokers and their relatives, for whom a switch could provide significant relief. In this regard, public health bodies are encouraged to spread the generally accepted facts about the e-cigarette to the wider public, so that smokers can correctly assess the alternatives.

Authoritative political regulation required

The political regulation of e-cigarettes implemented in the EU since 2016 has an essential consequence for retailers and consumers: e-cigarettes may be traded freely under clearly defined conditions. In spite of this, two years after the EU Tobacco Products Directive came into force at national level, there are increasing numbers of political voices calling for stricter regulation of e-cigarettes and taxes on e-cigarette liquids.

However, there are also divergent political assessments. Dr Renate Sommer is a member of the European Parliament, representing the European People’s Party (EPP), and is a member of the European Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). She considers the regulators to have a responsibility not to torpedo the development of e-cigarettes as an alternative to smoking by implementing inadequate measures, and says: “Hopefully, we will not get into a situation in which disproportionately difficult access to e-cigarettes makes smokers go back to ordinary and more harmful tobacco cigarettes.”

Regarding the risks posed by e-cigarettes, Dr Sommer agrees with the assessment made by Professor Mayer: “With regard to the pure smoking process, e-cigarettes are proven to contain less carcinogenic substances and are therefore much less harmful to health than it is the case with ‘real’ cigarettes.”

However, there must be measures to effectively protect young people and children from both tobacco products and e-cigarettes.

The concern among politicians regarding excessive regulation is also shared by Dustin Dahlmann. He is managing director of a successful German e-cigarette company and also chairman of the alliance for tobacco-free pleasure (BfTG). The BfTG is an association of small and medium-sized retailers and manufacturers of e-cigarettes and e-liquids. It is thus part of the small- and medium-sized industry that supported and made the e-cigarette big on the European market long before the tobacco companies turned to the tobacco-free product in search of alternatives. A current project of the independent BfTG association is the establishment of the European e-cigarette federation, Independent European Vape Alliance), which is intended to enable better coordination of national and individual interests at EU level.

Hopefully, we will not get into a situation in which disproportionately difficult access to e-cigarettes makes smokers go back to ordinary and more harmful tobacco cigarettes” — Dr Renate Sommer.

Dahlmann is critical of the recent statements about e-cigarettes made by EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis. He says: “In early May, Mr Andriukaitis stated that he considered e-cigarettes to be less dangerous than traditional tobacco smoking. Nevertheless, in the same article he came to the conclusion that smokers should not make use of e-cigarettes to help them stop using tobacco. With all due respect: the reasoning is not thought through consistently.”

Protection of minors is a central concern

E-cigarettes are a significantly less harmful alternative for adult smokers and have been developed exclusively for such people” — Dustin Dahlmann.

Neither tobacco products or e-cigarettes should be in the hands of children and adolescents. “E-cigarettes are a significantly less harmful alternative for adult smokers and have been developed exclusively for such people,” says Dustin Dahlmann. “That’s why we welcome all youth protection measures, such as the Youth Protection Act passed in Germany in 2016, which prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes to young people.”

Panel discussion about e-cigarettes in Brussels

At 6p.m. on July 10, 2018, a moderated e-cigarette discussion event will take place in the Members’ Lounge of the European Parliament in Brussels. Dr Renate Sommer, Professor Bernd Mayer and Dustin Dahlmann will take part in the debate, called: Can we ignore that e-cigarettes are by far less harmful than conventional cigarettes? The discussion will also assess the new HnB products compared to e-cigarettes.

To register for the event, email hermann.drummer@simply-europe.eu

The aim of the event is to achieve open dialogue and share knowledge between participants in terms of the opportunities and risks associated with e-cigarettes. Because only an exchange that is free of prejudice can prevent incorrect assessments.

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