More research needed on e-cigarettes

E-cigarettes could be beneficial in the fight against smoking, if used properly and with more research.

Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo, David Hammond, says Health Canada has banned the product, but more research needs to be done on them.

E-cigarettes are being used by smokers as a form of cessation or as an alternative to smoking, “Like it or not, we have millions of Canadians who are dependant on it in a potentially cleaner way, and I say potential. And so, we hope if these products help get people off cigarettes, they’re made available to people in a safe way and they do that in a way that you’re not bringing little kids into a nicotine market.”

Because e-cigarettes are banned in Canada, they’re still sold, just without the nicotine according to Hammond, “So basically you’re getting some of those other chemicals and flavours and the e-cigarette heats this up, it evaporates and then you inhale the vapour. They’re quite different, some companies are very well established, others it’s out of the back of a truck. The market is really mixed right now.”

“There’s a big market out there, and I think the question is, is the market just smokers trying to quit, or can it also be used as a product to bring people into the market, or as we’ve heard…you know a colleague of mine walked in and said ‘my son told me everyone in their class is using e-cigarettes, what do you think?'”

Hammond adds there could be a downside to the e-cigarettes if they’re marketed towards children to bring more people into the market with flavours like cherry and grape.

That’s why Hammond says Health Canada should regulate the e-cigarettes and put them under the same umbrella as tobacco products.

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