Recently, the latest research by David Mendez, dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and his team concluded that there is sufficient evidence to support e-cigarettes as the primary aid for adults to quit smoking, and suggested that the governments of the United States, Australia and Canada and professional medical teams , more consideration of the potential of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation, and less misunderstanding about it.
The study is published in the journal Tobacco Control and is titled “E-cigarette availability: A utilitarian, bioethical, and public health ethics analysis.” The study pointed out that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than cigarettes, and E-Cigarette Availability (ECA) should be used as a tobacco harm reduction strategy.
“E-cigarette availability” is a group-based intervention to encourage smokers to switch to e-cigarettes. It contains two meanings: let smokers clearly know that e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes, and ensure that they can easily obtain e-cigarettes.
The study believes that “e-cigarette availability” is supported by the two major ethical frameworks of public health ethics and biomedical ethics. First of all, “e-cigarette availability” can help smokers reduce health risks and harms, and allow smokers to make their own health decisions, which is in line with the principle of respecting individual rights and autonomy. Second, “availability of e-cigarettes” can achieve public health goals and encounter the least restrictions than traditional tobacco control practices.
Professor Mendez said: “Now more and more evidence has confirmed that e-cigarettes have the effect of smoking cessation, so e-cigarettes will play a key role in controlling tobacco and reducing the incidence of smoking-related morbidity. Doctors are an important channel for smokers to seek help when they quit smoking. That’s why it’s important to know what doctors think about vaping.”
Professor Mendez also pointed out that some doctors would be biased to believe that all tobacco products are equally harmful. To refute this point of view, he cited the research results of several authoritative scientific research institutions. As confirmed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, e-cigarettes can significantly reduce harm compared with cigarettes. The 2021 report of the Royal College of Physicians clearly stated that e-cigarettes are an effective smoking cessation tool, and the government should encourage smokers to switch to e-cigarettes.
Professor Mendez called on governments and professional institutions to pay more attention to the advantages of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation and provide accurate e-cigarette information to the public. “Concealing and distorting e-cigarette information will cause public health agencies to lose their credibility. Once their credibility is lost, the public will question or even ignore other risk information released by them, which will cause major public health harm.” He said.
