In recent years, the safety of e-cigarettes has become the focus of global attention. From policy bans to media coverage, e-cigarettes seem to have become the worst enemy of public health. However, while e-cigarettes have caused panic, smoking - a long-recognized health hazard - has not received the same attention. Why are we so focused on e-cigarettes but ignoring cigarettes, which cause millions of deaths every year?
We know that the risk of vaping is estimated to be 20 times lower than smoking, and the lifetime risk of cancer is only 0.5% of the risk of smoking. That's why, when the European Union first proposed its goal of going smoke-free nationwide by 2030, it thought e-cigarettes would play a key role.
E-cigarette versus smoking: a comparison of health risks
Before discussing e-cigarettes, we need to be clear: Smoking is one of the leading causes of preventable disease and death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), smoking kills about 8 million people each year, including those who die from secondhand smoke exposure. Cigarettes contain more than 7,000 chemicals, at least 69 of which have proven carcinogenic properties.
In contrast, the main components of e-cigarettes are nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin and food-grade flavors. Vaping is produced by heating the e-cigarette liquid for the user to inhale. Although nicotine can cause addiction, it is not a major cause of cancer on its own. A study by Public Health England (PHE) showed that E-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Despite this, policies in many countries still treat e-cigarettes the same as traditional cigarettes, and even impose stricter restrictions on e-cigarettes.
How does the e-cigarette Scare affect public health?
In recent years, e-cigarette-related health reports have been common. In 2019, a series of e-cigarette-related lung injury cases (EVALI) broke out in the United States, causing serious social panic. However, follow-up investigations have shown that most cases are linked to vitamin E acetate contamination in illegal THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) e-cigarette products, while legal nicotine e-cigarettes have not been proven to cause the same health problems.
Despite this, the negative reports have made many smokers discouraged from e-cigarettes, and some have even given up e-cigarettes and returned to traditional cigarettes. This situation is undoubtedly a major threat to public health. The e-cigarette scare has not only led policymakers to impose excessive restrictions, it has also discouraged smokers from switching to less harmful alternatives.
Why don't we talk about smoking?
The dangers of smoking compared to e-cigarettes have long been widely established. However, in many countries, the traditional tobacco industry still has a large market share and is protected by economic benefits such as taxes. As a result, some policy makers and public health agencies are often silent about the dangers of the traditional tobacco industry when they crack down on e-cigarettes.
The number of people worried about the dangers of e-cigarettes is growing every year, and the situation is likely to get worse as the government launches one crackdown after another on e-cigarettes. More than half of smokers believe that vaping is as harmful or more harmful than smoking, and this proportion rises to 60% of smokers who have never used e-cigarettes. In addition, it is easier for the media to draw public attention to new health risks, while the long-standing problem of smoking is instead seen as a "cliche." As a relatively new product, electronic cigarettes are more likely to become the object of public opinion attack.
Many e-cigarette studies have methodological limitations, such as not distinguishing between legal nicotine e-liquids and illegal black market products, or over-interpreting short-term experimental results as long-term health risks. Such misleading research results can lead to policy overreaction and even affect the public's correct perception of e-cigarettes.
E-cigarettes should be part of a tobacco control strategy
Scientific evidence shows that e-cigarettes can help smokers reduce their cigarette use or even quit altogether. For example, the UK's NHS (National Health Service) has included e-cigarettes as one of its smoking cessation tools and provides related support services.
As an example, a doctor told a parliamentary committee that vaping causes popcorn lung, even though this ridiculous rumor was refuted years ago by scientists, Public Health England, the NHS and others.
Instead of panicking and suppressing e-cigarettes, governments and public health agencies should adopt a more scientific attitude and use e-cigarettes as part of a tobacco control strategy to help more people get rid of the harm of cigarettes.
conclusion
E-cigarettes are not completely harmless, but they pose much lower health risks than traditional cigarettes. We should look at e-cigarettes objectively, based on scientific evidence, rather than allowing panic to influence public health decisions. The real public health crisis remains cigarettes, not e-cigarettes.
We should base our e-cigarette policy on science, not emotional reactions. The real enemy is not vaping, but smoking itself.
