E-cigarettes as Harmful as Tobacco: Indian Doctors

About 75% of Indian doctors think that e-cigarettes may not help people quit smoking and instead only pose several health risks to its users.Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), commonly known as e-cigarettes are battery-operated devices through which the users can inhale an aerosol containing nicotine. They are smoke-free and tobacco-free, but they're not nicotine-free.

E-cigarettes have gained much popularity among teenagers as an alternative to conventional cigarettes. There has been a recent shift in smoking rates, as many prefer vaping to smoking.

Health experts are now warning about the potential threats to life due to exposure to e-cigarettes. Concerns regarding e-cigarettes role in smoking cessation are piling up globally.

Curofy, a doctor networking app had conducted a poll to know about the standing of physicians on this issue. The question was whether cigarettes are helpful in smoking cessation or are they harmful?

The survey found that about 1429 doctors responded to the question, wherein 7 in 10 doctors said that it’s dangerous to the health of the smoker as well as the people around them. Only 28% of doctors said that it’s helpful and will help smokers kick their habit.

They stressed that nicotine, a tobacco extract which is a component of e- cigarettes, is as addictive as traditional cigarettes and second-hand smoke from e-cigarettes can be harmful to other people.

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Nipun Goyal, Co-founder, Curofy said,“There's been a significant increase in electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use in recent years, particularly among kids and teens, as well as smokers looking for an alternative to traditional cigarettes. It’s important for us as a society to know what’s right our health and no one can tell you that better than doctors. We tried to figure out where doctors stand on the E cigarette debate and the results clearly show that they think its as harmful as tobacco.”

Source-Medindia