New report highlights need for more e-cigarette research

A new report from Cancer Research UK has aimed to set out a unified research agenda for the tobacco control and public health community in the UK regarding the safety of electronic cigarettes.

The University of Stirling study has highlighted the fact that e-cigarettes are a relatively new product that are being positioned as a safer alternative to standard cigarettes, with many smokers trying to use them as a cessation aid.

However, questions remain over the involvement of the tobacco industry, marketing and whether e-cigarettes undermine smokefree laws, as well as the ethics of promoting an addictive product that contains nicotine.

Regulation of e-cigarettes is currently being considered by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, with a decision expected in the coming months.

Sarah Woolnough, Cancer Research UK's executive director of policy and information, said: "We need to understand much more about what these products contain, how they are being used and how they are being marketed."

Data from Cancer Research UK estimates that tobacco consumption caused an estimated 100 million deaths during the 20th century, a figure that is expected to increase tenfold in the current century.