Characteristics, side effects and benefits of electronic cigarette use: a worldwide survey of more than 19,000 users has been submitted for publication

Tuesday, 11 February 2014 06:29

Characteristics, side effects and benefits of electronic cigarette use: a worldwide survey of more than 19,000 users has been submitted for publication

By Dr Farsalinos

I am pleased to announce that the worldwide survey which was completed last summer has been thoroughly analyzed, the manuscript has been written and it has been submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal. The study involved analysis of 19,441 participants from all over the world, including 88 subjects who were not smokers at the time of e-cigarette use initiation. We hope the peer-review process will take a short time and it will be accepted for publication. To give you an idea about the results, 81% reported that they had completely substituted smoking with e-cigarette use, while the rest reduced cigarette consumption from a median of 20 to 4 cigarettes per day. More than one-fifth of the population initiated e-cigarette use with more than 20mg/ml nicotine-containing liquids, supporting once again the inappropriateness of the current EU regulation which will significantly reduce the efficacy of e-cigarettes as smoking substitutes.

We are always presenting data in a responsible and objective way. We have made clear in the manuscript that these results cannot be extrapolated to the general population because it is expected that dedicated users participate to such surveys. For example, we cannot expect than in the general population 81% of e-cigarette users will completely substitute smoking with them. However, we believe this survey will enhance our current knowledge about the characteristics of e-cigarette users and will provide valuable information to the regulatory authorities.

We would like to thank everyone who participated to this survey, and we hope you will continue to support our research efforts in future follow-up surveys.