Number of PubMed Search Results for Articles on E-Cigarettes 2007-2017

There has been a major increase in the number of publications on e-cigarettes. Our search for articles on them shows the increasing interest in the subject over the last ten years. From 2007-12, there were only 53 publications recorded. Between 2013 and 2017, the figure jumped to over 1500.

But more science does not always mean better science or better science communication. Poorly formulated and designed research, over-cooked announcements of research results, over-hyped university press releases and an uncritical media with an appetite for bad news stories all create a perfect storm of confusion among the general public, smokers and users of safer nicotine products (SNP) as to the advisability of switching away from smoking to SNP.

The advent of SNP left the global public health community itself divided. Many working in tobacco control regard SNP as a ruse by tobacco companies to renormalise smoking, especially in countries where adult smoking rates have been in decline for decades – and citing in particular a fear of young people being led through a ‘gateway’ to regular smoking. Others – public health officials, academics, clinicians and consumer advocates among them – point to evidence that SNP are significantly less harmful than smoking cigarettes for those who cannot or do not want to give up nicotine, those who want to cut back on smoking, or quit altogether. From this follows the conclusion that a switch to SNP has the potential to save many lives and moreover, at no cost to governments or taxpayers.

See also p. 60 of the report: No Fire, No Smoke: The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2018 — Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (gsthr.org)