There has been growing consensus among health experts, physicians and consumers that using vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking tobacco and short-term health risks associated with vaping appeared to be minimal, finds a report of British Medical Association (BMA).
The health-related organization carried out the research in backdrop of significant numbers of smokers are using vaping and saying that it was helpful in quitting or cutting down cigarette use. The research was aimed to comparative risk assessments of cigarette and vaping and its key findings were published in BMA website on March 31.
The British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom.
The BMA has a range of representative and scientific committees and is recognized by National Health Service (NHS) employers as the sole contract negotiator for doctors. The BMA study observed that there is growing consensus that using vaping is substantially safer than smoking tobacco and unlike smoking vaping use does not involve combustion.
Vaping currently available are consumer-regulated products which must meet product safety standards, the report added. According to the report significant numbers of British smokers are using vaping with many reporting that they are helpful in quitting or cutting down cigarette use. Citing a widely counted report of Public Health England in 2015, BMA said that vaping evidence review concluded that it was found that vaping use is likely to be around 95 percent safer than smoking.
Significant numbers of smokers are now using vaping in attempts to stop smoking. The most recent data from the smoking toolkit study indicates that 34 percent of people trying to stop smoking use vaping, which is the most popular device used in attempts to quit smoking, BMA study observed.
Some health experts viewed that e-cigarette can be a useful tool to decrease tobacco harm in Bangladesh. Enam Medical College Hospitals community medicine department head Mithun Alamgir said that since it is proven that vaping is an effective cessation tool from smoking, the policymakers needs to be mindful while shaping any policy.
USA-based Consumer Choice centers recent research also supported that notion. According to their research, over 62 lakh people in Bangladesh can quit smoking with using e-cigarette as cessation tool.