E-cigarettes ‘can be a useful aid to quitting smoking’

An expert independent evidence review published by Public Health England has highlighted the potential benefits of using e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid.

According to the report, the current best estimates indicate that e-cigarettes are around 95 percent less harmful than smoking standard cigarettes, with nothing to indicate that e-cigarettes act as a route into smoking for children or non-smokers.

Indeed, almost all of the 2.6 million adults using e-cigarettes in Britain are current or ex-smokers, with the majority using them as a means of cutting back on tobacco. Despite this, 44.8 percent of the public do not know they are much less harmful than smoking.

Although they are not 100 percent safe, the report concluded that local smoking cessation services should embrace the use of these devices as an alternative to regular cigarettes.

Professor Kevin Fenton, director of health and wellbeing at Public Health England, said: "E-cigarettes are not completely risk-free but when compared to smoking, evidence shows they carry just a fraction of the harm."