E-cigarettes do far more harm than good, says a
recently released study funded by the National Health Institutes of
the United States.
It found that for every smoker who quits with the help
of e-cigarettes, 80 others would pick up the habit following
exposure to e-cigarettes. This lends strong support for Singapore's
total ban on e-cigarettes that became effective last month
(February).
The study, led by Associate Professor Samir Soneji of
the Dartmouth Institute, the health services research and education
centre at Dartmouth College, was based on simulation modelling.
The model estimates that use of e-cigarettes in 2014 in
the US would lead to an additional 2,070 adults quitting smoking in
2015.
However, it expects e-cigarettes to initiate smoking in
168,000 young people who had never smoked to become daily smokers
by their mid-30s.
It concluded: "E-cigarette use currently represents
more population-level harm than benefit."
ST