1 Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep, and Allergy, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2014 Sep 15;190(6):611-8. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201407-1198PP.
Awareness and usage of electronic cigarettes has exponentially increased during the last few years, especially among young people and women in some countries. The rapid acceptance of electronic cigarettes may be attributed in part to the perception created by marketing and the popular press that they are safer than combustible cigarettes.
To alert and advise policy makers about electronic cigarettes and their potential hazards.
Using The Union's position paper on electronic cigarettes as the starting template, the document was written using an iterative process. Portions of the manuscript have been taken directly from the position papers of participating societies.
Because electronic cigarettes generate less tar and carcinogens than combustible cigarettes, use of electronic cigarettes may reduce disease caused by those components. However, the health risks of electronic cigarettes have not been adequately studied. Studies looking at whether electronic cigarettes can aid smoking cessation have had inconsistent results. Moreover, the availability of electronic cigarettes may have an overall adverse health impact by increasing initiation and reducing cessation of combustible nicotine delivery products.
The health and safety claims regarding electronic nicotine delivery devices should be subject to evidentiary review. The potential benefits of electronic cigarettes to an individual smoker should be weighed against potential harm to the population of increased social acceptability of smoking and use of nicotine, the latter of which has addictive power and untoward effects. As a precaution, electronic nicotine delivery devices should be restricted or banned until more information about their safety is available. If they are allowed, they should be closely regulated as medicines or tobacco products.
在过去几年中，电子烟的认知度和使用率呈指数级增长，尤其是在一些国家的年轻人和女性中。电子烟的快速普及部分归因于营销和大众媒体所营造的观念，即它们比可燃香烟更安全。
提醒政策制定者注意电子烟及其潜在危害。
以联合会关于电子烟的立场文件为起始模板，采用迭代过程撰写本文档。本文稿的部分内容直接取自参与协会的立场文件。
由于电子烟产生的焦油和致癌物质比可燃香烟少，因此使用电子烟可能会减少因这些成分引起的疾病。然而，电子烟的健康风险尚未得到充分研究。研究电子烟是否有助于戒烟的结果并不一致。此外，电子烟的可获得性可能会通过增加吸烟的初始使用和减少可燃尼古丁产品的戒烟而对整体健康产生不利影响。
有关电子尼古丁输送装置的健康和安全声明应接受证据审查。应该权衡电子烟对个别吸烟者的潜在好处与增加社会对吸烟和尼古丁使用的可接受性的潜在危害，后者具有成瘾性和不良影响。作为预防措施，应限制或禁止电子烟，直至获得更多关于其安全性的信息。如果允许使用，应将其作为药品或烟草产品进行严格监管。
