Are E-cigarettes Less Harmful Than Regular Cigarettes?

Are e-cigarettes less harmful than regular cigarettes?

1. Yes.

2. This does not mean that e-cigarettes are safe. E-cigarette gas just generally contains fewer harmful substances than the deadly mixture of 7,000 chemicals in regular cigarette smoke.

3. E-cigarette gas is not harmless. It may contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including nicotine, volatile organic compounds.

Can e-cigarettes help adults quit smoking?

1. Electronic cigarettes have not yet been approved by the FDA as a smoking cessation tool.

2. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a group of health experts that makes recommendations about preventive care, has concluded that the evidence is insufficient to recommend e-cigarettes for adults (including pregnant women) to quit smoking.

3. If used as a complete replacement for all cigarettes and other tobacco products, e-cigarettes can help non-pregnant adult smokers.

To date, the few studies on this issue have had mixed results.

▼ A Cochrane review of two randomized controlled trials found that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes can help smokers quit smoking long-term compared with placebo (non-nicotine) e-cigarettes. However, existing studies have some limitations, including the small number of trials, small sample sizes, and large margins of error within the estimates.

▼ A recent CDC study [?PDF?-197 KB] found that many adults are using e-cigarettes to try to quit smoking. However, most adult e-cigarette users do not stop smoking and continue to use both products (known as "dual use"). Besides regular cigarettes, dual use is not an effective way to protect your health, whether you use e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, or other tobacco products. Because smoking a few cigarettes a day can be dangerous, quitting smoking completely is very important to protect your health.