“THE FALSE BELIEF THAT VAPING IS AS HARMFUL AS SMOKING
COULD BE PREVENTING THOUSANDS OF SMOKERS FROM
SWITCHING TO E-CIGARETTES TO HELP THEM QUIT.”
IMAGERY:
YouTube Video
Public Health England
After the equivalent of one month’s worth of
cigarette smoke had passed through the first
jar, the cotton wool balls were completely
drenched in brown-black tar. Meanwhile, there
was very little to distinguish between the cotton
wool in the e-cigarette jar and the otherwise-
empty control jar.
Dr Shabab said:
“The false belief that vaping is as harmful as
smoking could be preventing thousands of
smokers from switching to e-cigarettes to help
them quit.
“I hope this illustrative experiment helps people
see the huge damage caused by smoking that
could be avoided by switching to an e-cigarette.
Research we and others have conducted
shows that vaping is much less harmful than
smoking and that using e-cigarettes on a
long-term basis is relatively safe, similar to
using licensed nicotine products, like nicotine
patches or gum.”
Professor John Newton, director of health
improvement at Public Health England, said
that it would be ‘tragic’ for smokers to be put off
from switching due to misplaced fears about
the potential harms of e-cigarette, a sentiment
echoed by PHE’s Martin Dockrell, who said:
“We like to think of our scientists as being
detached about these things, but in fact the
scientists involved in this area on both sides
are deeply passionate about it.
“People don’t know who to believe and they
believe the thing that suits them best.”
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