University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Addiction. 2012 Sep;107(9):1545-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03826.x. Epub 2012 Apr 4.
Concerns have been raised that the advent of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) may be harmful to public health, and smokers have been advised by important agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration not to use them. This paper argues that, while more research is needed on the cost-benefit equation of these products and the appropriate level and type of regulation for them, the harms have tended thus far to be overstated relative to the potential benefits. In particular: concern over repeated inhalation of propylene glycol is not borne out by toxicity studies with this compound; risk of accidental poisoning is no different from many household devices and chemicals available in supermarkets; concern that e-cigarettes may promote continued smoking by allowing smokers to cope with no-smoking environments is countered by the observation that most smokers use these products to try to quit and their use appears to enhance quitting motivation; concerns over low nicotine delivery are countered by evidence that the products provide significant craving reduction despite this in some cases; and e-cigarettes may help reduce toxin exposure to non-smokers.
人们担心电子烟的出现可能对公共健康有害，美国食品和药物管理局等重要机构已建议吸烟者不要使用电子烟。本文认为，尽管需要对这些产品的成本效益进行更多研究，以及对它们进行适当的监管水平和类型，但迄今为止，相对于潜在的好处，这些产品的危害被夸大了。特别是：人们对重复吸入丙二醇的担忧并没有得到这种化合物毒性研究的证实；与超市中许多家用设备和化学品相比，意外中毒的风险没有什么不同；担心电子烟可能会通过让吸烟者适应禁烟环境而促进继续吸烟，但观察到大多数吸烟者使用这些产品是为了尝试戒烟，而且它们的使用似乎增强了戒烟的动力；对于尼古丁输送量低的担忧，也被证明这些产品尽管如此，但在某些情况下仍能显著减少烟瘾；电子烟可能有助于减少非吸烟者的毒素暴露。
