e-cigarettes can be a useful tool for reducing the smoking and health problem

How do the health risks of vaping compare to smoking?

Cigarettes kill at least 1-in-2 smokers prematurely and cut smoker`s lives short by an average of 10 years due to cancer, obstructive lung disease and cardiovascular disease.

There is not yet any long-term epidemiological data available on E-cigarettes. But U.S. and British assessments have concluded that while vaping is likely to be substantially less harmful than cigarettes, it is not risk-free. Potential harms include nicotine addiction as well as some cardiovascular risks, though these are estimated to be lower than risks from cigarettes.

Could e-cigarettes reduce harm of normal smoking?

I do not encourage that anyone vape if they do not need to. But if someone would otherwise smoke cigarettes, and vaping helps them stop smoking completely, e-cigarettes can be a useful tool for reducing the smoking and health problem. Quitting cigarettes is unequivocally good for your health. Research shows that if a person stops using cigarettes by age 40, they on average avoid 90% of the increased risk of death compared to if they continued smoking. If a person stops smoking cigarettes by age 30, their health risks are nearly the same as a person who never smoked.

The CDC says that there is limited evidence that vaping helps people quit smoking cigarettes. The FDA, in approving some e-cigarettes for sale, expresses the view that e-cigarettes can be a beneficial tool for smokers who significantly reduce their cigarette use or stop smoking by switching to e-cigarettes.

Recent studies have also shown that e-cigarettes are more effective than nicotine replacement medicines in helping people who want to quit smoking. The National Health Service in the United Kingdom includes vaping as an approved way to quit smoking.