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| The World Health Organization has issued a new warning about e-cigarettes and called for tougher regulation (AFP Photo/EVA HAMBACH) |
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Electronic cigarettes are "undoubtedly harmful" and should be regulated, the WHO said Friday as it warned against the use of vaping products by smokers trying to quit their deadly habit.
The growing
popularity of e-cigarettes, battery-powered devices that enable users to inhale
addictive nicotine liquids, has raised fears among policymakers worldwide of a
new gateway addiction for young people.
While
vaping exposes users to lower levels of toxins than smoking, the World Health
Organization said the devices still pose "health risks" to users.
"Although
the specific level of risk associated with ENDS (electronic nicotine delivery
systems) has not yet been conclusively estimated, ENDS are undoubtedly harmful
and should therefore be subject to regulation," the WHO said in a new
report on the global smoking epidemic.
There was
also "insufficient evidence" to support claims of their effectiveness
in assisting smokers trying to quit conventional cigarettes, it said.
"In
most countries where they are available, the majority of e-cigarette users
continue to use e-cigarettes and cigarettes concurrently, which has little to
no beneficial impact on health risk and effects," the report said.
Big tobacco
companies have been aggressively marketing e-cigarette and heated tobacco
products in recent years as they seek new customers.
They argue
such products are far less dangerous than traditional cigarettes and can help
some smokers completely switch to "safer" alternatives.
But the WHO
warned misinformation spread by the tobacco industry about e-cigarettes was
"a present and real threat."
Restrictions
on the use of e-cigarettes around the world is increasing. San Francisco last
month banned the sale and manufacture of the products, which unlike tobacco
cigarettes do not burn.
China, home
to nearly a third of the world's tobacco smokers, is also planning to regulate
the vaping devices.
More effort
was needed to help smokers quit, the WHO said in the report, noting only
"30 percent of the world's population have access to appropriate tobacco
cessation services," such as counseling, telephone hotlines and medication.
Without
assistance, only four percent of attempts to stop smoking succeed.
Tobacco
claims more than eight million lives each year either from direct use or
second-hand smoke, according to the WHO.
While the
number of users has declined slightly since 2007, it remains stubbornly high at
1.4 billion, the vast majority of them men.
"People
who quit tobacco can live longer, healthier and more productive lives,"
the WHO said.
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