LONDON: Consuming e-cigarettes is farsafer and less toxic than smoking conventional tobaccocigarettes, according to the findings of a study analysinglevels of dangerous and cancer-causing substances in the body.
Researchers found that people who switched from smokingregular cigarettes to e-cigarettes or nicotine replacementtherapy (NRT) such as gum or patches for at least six months hadmuch lower levels of toxins in their saliva and urine than thosewho continued to smoke.
"Our study adds to existing evidence showing thate-cigarettes and NRT are far safer than smoking, and suggeststhat there is a very low risk associated with their long-termuse," said Lion Shahab, a specialist in epidemiology and publichealth at University College London who led the work.
E-cigarettes, which heat nicotine-laced liquid into vapour,have grown into an $8 billion-a-year market, according toEuromonitor International - more than three times that of NRTproducts.
They are, however, still dwarfed by a tobacco marketestimated by Euromonitor to be worth around $700 billion.
Many health experts think e-cigarettes, or vapes, which donot contain tobacco, are a lower-risk alternative to smoking andpotentially a major public health tool.
But some question their long-term safety and worry that theymay act as a "gateway" to taking up conventional cigarettes.
TheU.S.surgeon general in December urged lawmakers to impose priceand tax policies that would discourage their use.Monday´s study, published in the journal Annals of InternalMedicine, analysed saliva and urine samples from long-terme-cigarette and NRT users as well as smokers, and comparedlevels of key chemicals found in their bodies.
It found that smokers who switched completely toe-cigarettes or NRT had significantly lower levels of toxicchemicals and carcinogens compared to people who continued tosmoke tobacco cigarettes.
Those who used e-cigarettes or NRT but did not completelyquit smoking did not show the same drop in toxin levels.Thisunderlined that a complete switch was needed to get thelong-term health benefits of quitting tobacco, the researcherssaid.
The World Health Organization says tobacco is the world´sbiggest preventable killer, with a predicted cumulative deathtoll of a billion by the end of this century if current trendscontinue.
Tobacco smoking currently kills around 6 millionpeople a year.Kevin Fenton, national director of health and wellbeing atthe government authority Public Health England, said thefindings held a clear message for tobacco smokers.
"Switching to e-cigarettes can significantly reduce harm tosmokers, with greatly reduced exposure to carcinogens andtoxins," he said in a statement.
"The findings also make clearthat the benefit is only realised if people stop smokingcompletely and make a total switch.
"The best thing a smoker can do, for themselves and thosearound them, is to quit now, completely and forever."