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A leading health professor has accused Public Health England (PHE) of ignoring the growing evidence about the harmful effects of e-cigarettes.
Martin McKee, a professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the UK was "out of step" with other parts of the world in terms of e-safety messages.
He added that San Francisco had adopted a "reasonable" policy to ban electronic cigarettes until their health effects were fully evaluated by the US government.
The United States has also launched a campaign to warn teens of the dangers of nicotine addiction from vaping.
Dr. Aaron Scott, of the University of Birmingham, echoed the comments of Professor McKee, who called for caution regarding the use of the e-cigarette after her research showed that lung tissue was damaged.
In an interview with The Press Association, Professor McKee said that PHE "seems to be doing everything in its power to promote e-cigarettes" and has chosen to ignore warnings about risks.
He said: "The nicotine contained in electronic cigarettes is not a harmless drug, then all these other things, such as inhaled flavors.
"We have not had enough e-cigarettes for long enough to know the real effects.
"But when we look at the evidence we have, there are enough reasons to seriously worry.
"Given the short-term effects on lung function and cardiovascular effects, there is enough evidence to say that we should be very, very cautious."
PHE campaigned for cigarette smokers to switch to e-cigarettes and said they were 95% less harmful than tobacco – a figure disputed by many health experts, including Professor McKee.
He added that PHE had failed to satisfactorily demonstrate that e-cigarettes were an effective aid to quitting smoking and ignored evidence that they were causing damage in their own right.
He said, "First of all, you have to show that they are safe. New products should not be introduced without showing that this is the case.
"It's not that e-cigarettes are safer than cigarettes, but if they're really safe.
"Then, if we want to show that it is a cessation aid, we have to show that it is really a cessation aid and that they are at least as sure other products, if not better.
"But that has not been done. There is no evidence at the population level that this is a useful aid to quit smoking. "
He added that PHE was turning a blind eye to more and more evidence that young people were trying to run out of steam and were attracted by the brands and marketing of the electronic cigarette.
A report published by PHE in February indicated that the regular use of electronic cigarettes among young people remained low.
But his numbers show that the number of British children and teenagers attempting to vapote has doubled in recent years.
According to 2018 data, about 15.9% of children aged 11 to 18 reported trying to vapot, up from 8.1% in 2014.
The proportion of people who said they had never tried e-cigarettes went from 91.5% in 2014 to 83.4% in 2018.
Teacher. McKee said that there was "a disturbing trend" of electronic cigarettes that are clearly made attractive to young people.
"It is now very clear that these products are very much in demand by children," he said.
"This creates an entirely preventable risk for a new generation that will be addicted to nicotine."
He warned that young people could become dependent on Juul, an electronic cigarette accused in the United States of creating a nicotine addiction in children and which was introduced to the UK market last summer.
"Why should British children be different from American children in this respect?", He said.
Prok McKee also called for stricter regulation of the entire electronic cigarette market.
"I think electronic cigarettes should be regulated as drugs, which means you have to demonstrate their safety and efficacy," he said. "It's as simple as that."
And he attacked voluntary codes of conduct adopted by the electronic cigarette industry, adding, "No one in public health should take voluntary codes of conduct seriously.
"There is a lot of research showing that voluntary agreements do not work."
He continued, "Tobacco companies are doing a lot of work here. They promote products that look a lot like cigarettes with similar colors, logos and names.
"Companies are trying to become socially acceptable. They were international outcasts and they are now trying to present themselves as part of the solution. "
Professor McKee stated that the position held by PHE was "unsustainable for the long term".
He said: "We are extremely out of step with the rest of the world.
"I think a small group of people in England have been able to devote a lot of effort to moving the program forward here."
Dr. Aaron Scott, of the Institute of Inflammation and Aging at the University of Birmingham, published an article in the journal Thorax, funded by the British Lung Foundation, showing that the liquid e- Sprayed liquid has a similar effect on the lungs and body smokers of regular cigarettes.
"We do not know what the long-term data is, but we have shown that it is cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory, just like cigarette smoke is in the short term."
He said that it was difficult to get funding for long-term studies "because PHE wants to get the message that they (e-cigarettes) are not harmful."
He said that long-term studies are needed so that people can make their own decision "on the basis of national data rather than this 95% guess".
"We have evidence only for the short term and in the short term it is definitely harmful."
Dr. Scott stated that it is understandable that PHE wants to "get his message across as loud as possible", namely that e-cigarettes are less harmful than smoking.
But he added, "I think we should be more careful. They argued for less stringent regulation of e-cigarettes to make it easier for consumers to use these devices, and I do not agree with that. "
He added, "You can go to a sterling store anywhere in the country and buy cash for an electronic cigarette at £ 1.
"You can do it with very little regulation, so it's very easy, for example for children, it's very accessible."
Professor John Newton, Director of Health Improvement at PHE, said, "While research on e-cigarettes continues to emerge, we must act on the basis of current evidence.
"There is a widespread academic and clinical consensus that, even though it is not safe, vaping is far less harmful than smoking.
"This view is shared by many around the world, including the Royal College of Physicians, Cancer Research UK, the British Medical Association, and the National Academy of Sciences in the United States.
"There is no situation where it would be better for your health to continue smoking rather than switch completely to vaping."
Professor Newton stated that PHE was "risk-averse" and that the UK had adopted a "cautious approach to maximize the opportunities offered by e-cigarettes to help more smokers quit".
He added: "The UK enforces some of the world's most stringent e-cigarette regulations, including advertising restrictions, minimum age of sale and maximum nicotine content.
"Similar approaches to ours have been adopted by Canada and New Zealand, which had already banned e-cigarettes.
"There is strong evidence that vaping is very effective in helping smokers quit smoking.
"The regular use of electronic cigarettes among young people remains low and almost entirely restricted to smokers or who have quit smoking, while the smoking rate continues to decline.
"Current evidence does not support the concern that e-cigarettes are a means of smoking among young people."
MAIN PHOTO: Yui Mok / PA Wire
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