E-cigarettes and heated tobacco: a blessing or a curse? The latest scientific update
Symposium Chairs: J. Vestbo (Manchester (Greater Manchester), United Kingdom), L. Hedman (Luleå, Sweden), I. Saraiva (Cascais, Portugal)
Aims: to present the main results of the report written by the task force on electronic cigarettes; to supplement the conclusions of the statement on electronic cigarettes with the position of the ERS leadership on electronic cigarettes, which raises two key points, namely, that there is little evidence that electronic cigarettes aid smoking cessation and much evidence that tobacco manufacturers are advertising electronic cigarettes as a bridge to starting nicotine and as a vehicle for long-term continuation, and that no-one, expert or otherwise, can credibly assert that electronic cigarettes are safer than tobacco in the long term given that they contain a whole new tranche of unregulated and unstudied compounds that are inhaled into the lung; to present an update on the potential health consequences of electronic cigarette and heated tobacco use, with a special focus on lung health; to raise awareness that many studies have a conflict of interest that significantly influences whether they find potential harm to health; to present an update on electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco as smoking cessation products, including recent clinical trials and the public health perspective; to raise awareness of tactics employed by the tobacco industry, including promotion of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco as well as interference of the tobacco industry with scientists; to present good practices/country examples of strong regulation; to highlight the leadership and engagement of the ERS in tobacco control; to distribute the updated ERS statement on heated tobacco.