Galper Grossman Sharon
Halakhic Advisor (Morah L'Halakha), Matan HaSharon, Ra'annana, Israel; and Oncology Consultant, Ra'annana, Israel.
Rambam Maimonides Med J. 2019 Jul 18;10(3):e0019. doi: 10.5041/RMMJ.10372.
To review current medical literature on the risks and potential benefits of e-cigarette use and its permissibility under Jewish law.
A survey of current medical literature about the risks and potential benefits of e-cigarette use, and a review of existing rabbinic literature regarding both combustible and e-cigarette products.
E-cigarettes contain fewer harmful materials than do combustible cigarettes. However, they are not risk-free. Their skyrocketing use among youth is of concern, as e-cigarettes lead to nicotine addiction and are a gateway to combustible cigarettes. Preliminary data indicate that e-cigarettes increase the risk of myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and emphysema and are no more effective as aids to smoking cessation than US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved interventions with acceptable safety profiles. Few halakhic decisors have opined on the permissibility of e-cigarettes, but extrapolating from halakhic discussions regarding combustible cigarettes strongly suggests that they would prohibit e-cigarettes based on government warnings and preliminary data demonstrating increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, at the least because of possible danger (safek sakana). Among youth and pregnant women, for whom e-cigarettes are particularly dangerous and for whom the government has administered explicit warnings, a Jewish legal prohibition should be absolute. There is a unique obligation to prevent youth from obtaining these products. Jewish law might also prohibit deriving benefit from the sale or advertisement of these products.
Extrapolating from rabbinic literature regarding combustible cigarettes, the preliminary data establishing the dangers of e-cigarettes and the government warnings against usage would render these products prohibited under Jewish law, especially for youth and pregnant women.
回顾当前关于使用电子烟的风险和潜在益处及其在犹太律法下的可允许性的医学文献。
对当前关于使用电子烟的风险和潜在益处的医学文献进行调查，并对现有的关于可燃香烟和电子烟产品的拉比文献进行综述。
电子烟所含有害物质比可燃香烟少。然而，它们并非没有风险。它们在青少年中的使用激增令人担忧，因为电子烟会导致尼古丁成瘾，并且是通向可燃香烟的途径。初步数据表明，电子烟会增加心肌梗死、慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）和肺气肿的风险，并且在帮助戒烟方面并不比美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）批准的具有可接受安全性的干预措施更有效。很少有犹太律法裁决者就电子烟的可允许性发表意见，但从关于可燃香烟的犹太律法讨论中推断，强烈表明他们会基于政府警告和显示心血管和呼吸系统疾病风险增加的初步数据禁止电子烟，至少因为存在可能的危险（安全隐患）。在青少年和孕妇中，电子烟对他们特别危险，而且政府已发出明确警告，犹太法律禁止应该是绝对的。有一项独特的义务防止青少年获得这些产品。犹太律法也可能禁止从这些产品的销售或广告中获利。
从关于可燃香烟的拉比文献推断，确立电子烟危险性的初步数据以及政府对使用的警告将使这些产品在犹太律法下被禁止，尤其是对青少年和孕妇。
