The First Anniversary Of The National E-cigarette Standard, The Latest Research Report Shows That The National Standard E-cigarette Is Safer

 The first anniversary of the national e-cigarette standard, the latest research report shows that the national standard e-cigarette is safer

 

Recently, a research team from the School of Public Health of Shanghai Jiao Tong University released a Report on the Characteristics of E-cigarette Users and Public Health Impact in China (2023). According to the report, nearly 70 percent of e-cigarette users believe that their health has improved after switching to e-cigarettes, and the proportion of users who have reported their symptoms have improved is higher than those of non-national standard products.

 

CAI Yuyang, the research director and associate professor of the School of Public Health at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said that in October 2022, after the national standards of e-cigarette management measures and e-cigarette standards were implemented, tobacco-flavored products were only allowed to be sold in the domestic market, and the use behavior of e-cigarette users has changed significantly. This report is the first large-scale research results to be released after the first anniversary of the standardized development of the e-cigarette industry.

 

According to the data, 68.1 percent of users believe that their overall health has improved after switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes. Symptoms that improved more often include cough, sore throat, breath, dry mouth, bitter mouth, and yellowing of the teeth and fingers.

 

 

 

 

 

(Figure: 68.1% of users reported an improvement in overall health after switching to e-cigarettes)

 

The survey also further found that the proportion of e-cigarette national standard product users who reported the improvement of multiple symptoms was higher than that of non-national standard product users, and the gap was statistically significant. For example, for cough symptoms, 30.3% of the users of gb products reported the improvement, while only 23.9% of the non-gb products users said that the symptoms had improved. In addition, sputum cough, sore throat, teeth, fingers yellow, breath, dry mouth, bitter mouth and other symptoms also present a similar proportion.

 

 

 

 

 

(Figure: The proportion of e-cigarette gb users' self-reported improvement of multiple symptoms is higher than that of non-gb users)

 

CAI Yuyang believes that the national standard of e-cigarette has made strict provisions on the use of harmful substances and additives, which defines the safety bottom line for e-cigarette products, so the safety of national standard products may be higher.

 

According to introducing, "electronic cigarette" national standards strictly limits the concentration of nicotine, total amount and impurities and pollutants, clear requirements should not be used in atomization carcinogenicity, mutagen, reproductive toxicity or respiratory toxic substances, and energy and vitality related additives and doping, may make consumers produce good health or reduce the harmful misunderstanding of substances, and pure dyeing purposes.

 

It should be noted that about 1% of e-cigarette users report that their physical condition has deteriorated after using e-cigarettes, mainly including dry mouth and bitter mouth. The team believes that the glycerol and propylene glycol in the aerosol are absorbent, which may cause dry mucosa and oral discomfort.

 

Without risk-free tobacco products, e-cigarettes still have health risks and should be banned from minors. But also consider combining tobacco control with harm minimization.

 

Sweden plans to cut its smoking rate to below 5 percent, making it the first "smoke-free" country in Europe, Reference News reported. In its report, The Swedish Experience: A Roadmap to a Smoke-free Society, "accepting smokeless products as less harmful alternatives", or "the use of less harmful non-combustible forms of tobacco and nicotine".

 

In addition, the UK said in April that it would encourage up to 1 million smokers to replace e-cigarettes, providing them with "e-cigarette kits" and support to quit smoking, with the goal of reducing the number of smokers from the current 13% of the population to less than 5%.

 

CAI suggested that the possible application of harm reduction strategies could be explored based on the principle of minimizing public health risks. Meanwhile, precise toxicological, cytological, animal, clinical and epidemiological studies should be conducted to further explore the public health impact of e-cigarettes.