E-cigarettes are not shown to be effective for quitting tobacco use: WHO

It says there is an urgent need to control e-cigarettes to protect children, as well as non-smokers and minimise health harms to the population

An Elf Bar disposable vaping pod device. File representational image. | Photo Credit: AP

E-cigarettes as consumer products are not shown to be effective for quitting tobacco use at the population level. Instead, alarming evidence has emerged on adverse population health effects, said the World Health Organisation on Thursday. It added there is an urgent need to control e-cigarettes to protect children, as well as non-smokers and minimise health harms to the population.

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“Kids are being recruited and trapped at an early age to use e-cigarettes and may get hooked to nicotine,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement issued by the organisation, while urging countries to implement strict measures to prevent uptake to protect their citizens, especially their children and young people.

The WHO has added that e-cigarettes have been allowed on the open market and aggressively marketed to young people. Thirty-four countries have banned the sale of e-cigarettes, 88 countries have no minimum age at which e-cigarettes can be bought and 74 countries have no regulations in place for these harmful products. In India, the possession of e-cigarettes and similar devices is a violation of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarette Act (PECA) 2019, according to the Union Health Ministry.

Even brief exposure to e-cigarette content on social media can be associated with increased intention to use these products, as well as more positive attitudes towards e-cigarettes. Studies consistently show that young people that use e-cigarettes are almost three times more likely to use cigarettes later in life, said the WHO.

According to data, 13–15-year-old children are using e-cigarettes at rates higher than adults in all WHO regions. In Canada, the rates of e-cigarette use among 16–19-year-olds has doubled between 2017 and 2022, and in the United Kingdom the number of young users has tripled in the past three years.

Highly addictive

The world organisation noted that e-cigarettes with nicotine are highly addictive and are harmful to health. While long-term health effects are not fully understood, it has been established that they generate toxic substances, some of which are known to cause cancer and some that increase the risk of heart and lung disorders. Use of e-cigarettes can also affect brain development and lead to learning disorders for young people. Fetal exposure to e-cigarettes can adversely affect the development of the fetus in pregnant women. Exposure to emissions from e-cigarettes also poses risks to bystanders.

The WHO has said that urgent measures are necessary to prevent uptake of e-cigarettes and counter nicotine addiction alongside a comprehensive approach to tobacco control, and in light of national circumstances.