Latest Resources
The actual and anticipated effects of restrictions on flavoured electronic nicotine delivery systems: a scoping review
Our findings highlight the need for additional research on the impacts of ENDS restrictions. Research should further evaluate the impact of restrictions on youth and adult use of nicotine and tobacco products in addition to the effects of restrictions in countries beyond the US to enable a robust consideration of the harm-benefit trade-off of restrictions. Studies of hypothetical restrictions suggest decreased ENDS use, increased cigarette use, and increased use of illicit markets. New evaluations of flavour restrictions can fill existing gaps in the literature identified here by considering the balance of effects on youth and adult initiation and cessation of ENDS and combustible cigarettes and by evaluating restrictions in countries beyond the US. As more research is conducted, these effects and additional information on internet sales, do-it-yourself modifications, and illegal marketplaces will provide essential information for a robust consideration of the benefits and harms to public health of flavoured ENDS restrictions.
Can alternative nicotine products put the final nail in the smoking coffin?
Clearly, bolder policies—including endorsement of harm reduction—are needed to put the final nail in the smoking coffin.
Exploring electronic cigarette portrayals: a content and thematic analysis of African online news coverage
The results indicate that articles and arguments presenting e-cigarettes positively outnumber those with a negative slant. The health impacts of electronic cigarettes emerged as the most discussed topic, with health authorities frequently cited as news sources. However, these health authorities often lacked a unified stance on e-cigarette safety. The lack of consensus among health officials could have public health consequences, possibly resulting in the formulation of uninformed policies. It can create confusion among policymakers, nicotine users, and the public, resulting in negative public health outcomes. Therefore, it is important that scientists, researchers, and public health officials, regardless of their affiliations, promote credible science and evidence. The accuracy and completeness of media coverage of electronic cigarette use also depend on the rigorous and cautious assessment of news sources by news writers.
How do underage youth access e-cigarettes in settings with minimum age sales restriction laws? A scoping review
Further research examining how social supply routes operate, including interaction and power dynamics, is crucial to reducing youth vaping. Given widespread access via schools and during social activities and events, exploring how supply routes operate and evolve in these settings should be prioritized. Inadequate compliance with existing sales regulations suggest greater national and local policy enforcement, including fines and licence confiscation for selling to minors, is required at the retailer level.
Patterns of flavored e-cigarette use among adult vapers in the USA: an online cross-sectional survey of 69,233 participants
Non-tobacco flavors were popular among the US adult vapers who participated in the study, and were popular choices at the time of quitting smoking for those who formerly smoked. Tobacco flavor use prevalence was low and was further reduced over time. Regulators should consider the flavor choice of adult consumers, especially those who quit smoking, when preparing legislation on flavored e-cigarettes.
Consideration of vaping products as an alternative to adult smoking: a narrative review
Tobacco harm reduction is a public health approach to reduce the impact of cigarette smoking on individuals. Non-combustible alternatives to cigarettes, such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), deliver nicotine to the user in the absence of combustion. The absence of combustion in e-cigarettes reduces the level of harmful or potentially harmful chemicals in the aerosol generated. This narrative review examines the published literature that studied the chemistry of e-cigarette aerosols, the related toxicology in cell culture and animal models, as well as clinical studies that investigated short- and long-term changes in biomarkers of smoke exposure after switching to e-cigarettes. In the context of the literature reviewed, the evidence supports the harm reduction potential for adult smokers who switch to e-cigarettes.
Perceptions of social media harms and potential management strategies: vaping case study
There was consensus among participants that e-cigarette related social media content can be harmful and government action is urgently needed. There was an identified need for the development of government led national-level regulatory frameworks, with government led appropriate legislation; identification of an organisation or organisations with suitable levels of regulatory power and resources to monitor, enforce and penalise noncompliant social media companies; accompanied by increased community awareness raising of harmful social media content and improved digital literacy.
An exploratory, randomised, crossover study to investigate the effect of nicotine on cognitive function in healthy adult smokers who use an electronic cigarette after a period of smoking abstinence
Overall, the nicotine containing products improved sustained attention and mood while reducing smoking urges, with the studied e-cigarettes having comparable effects to combustible cigarettes across the assessed cognitive parameters and mood measures. These results demonstrate the potential role of e-cigarettes to provide an acceptable alternative for combustible cigarettes among people who would otherwise continue to smoke.
The “Gateway” hypothesis: evaluation of evidence and alternative explanations
Evidence offered in support of the gateway hypothesis does not establish that ENDS use causes youth to also smoke cigarettes. Instead, this evidence is better interpreted as resulting from a common liability to use both ENDS and cigarettes. Population-level trends are inconsistent with the gateway hypothesis, and instead are consistent with (but do not prove) ENDS displacing cigarettes. Policies based on misinterpreting a causal gateway effect may be ineffective at best, and risk the negative unintended consequence of increased cigarette smoking.
Increased e-cigarette use prevalence is associated with decreased smoking prevalence among US adults
Population-level data continue to suggest that smoking prevalence has declined at an accelerated rate in the last decade in ways correlated with increased uptake of e-cigarette use.
