More and more Americans think that e-cigarettes are harmful: MEDICINE AND HEALTH: Science Times

Researchers examined data from the Tobacco Products Survey and Risk Perceptions, administered by the Georgia State University Center for Tobacco Science, and the National Health Trends Survey, administered by the National Cancer Institute; Each year are representative surveys conducted at the national level with American adults each year, when the results of both surveys were combined. The percentage of people who felt that the e-cigarette was less harmful than the regular cigarette decreased from 45% in 2012 to 35% in 2017. The number of people who thought that e-cigarettes were as harmful as cigarettes had increased 45% over this period, and the percentage of people believing that e-cigarettes were more harmful remained low, at less than 10%, according to the results, released Friday in JAMA. .

The results "underscore the urgent need to communicate the risks of e-cigarettes to the public," the authors note, fearing that more and more people will consider e-cigarettes to be more harmful than cigarettes, will be less willing to take security measures. the transition from one to the other. Electronic cigarettes work by heating a pure liquid called ejuice – composed of flavors, propylene glycol, glycerin and often nicotine – until it vaporizes. The resulting steam is far less offensive to smokers and non-smokers. In 2017, the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine concluded that "electronic cigarettes pose less risk to an individual than combustible tobacco products".

Since then, however, studies have linked the use of electronic cigarettes to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other respiratory diseases at levels similar to those of traditional cigarettes in Canada. some cases, explained Stanton A. Glantz. Professor at the University of California, San Francisco Center for Research and Teaching on Tobacco Control, in an editorial published alongside the JAMA study. The vision of those whom Glantz describes as "optimists of the electronic cigarette" is that smokers switch completely from cigarettes to electronic cigarettes, he said. But contrary to their hopes, about two-thirds of adult users of electronic cigarettes continue to use both. "The risks badociated with the use of electronic cigarettes add to the risks badociated with combustible cigarettes," he added, which means that people who use both of the higher risks of heart and lung diseases than those who only smoke ordinary cigarettes.

While the long-term effects of e-cigarette use continue to be understood, the evolution of risk perception by the public may benefit more to a group of people: adolescents and young adults .

Young people who have negative opinions about e-cigarettes are less likely to use them, which is important to limit their consumption in this group, said Glantz. "In terms of effects on public health, this explosion in the use of cigarettes by young people overwhelms any potential reduction in accompanying adults who switch cigarettes to electronic cigarettes."