Risks Of Smoking E-Cigarette Are Less Compared To The Real Thing But Are Nicotine Replacement Products Really Safe?

Consumers of e-cigarettes are not clear about its risks or benefits, a new study has suggested.

According to the Scotland study, while some smokers look at electronic cigarettes as a potential aid in quitting, several others who have already quit consider them a temptation to resume a habit they fought hard to quit.

Researchers interviewed 64 smokers and hardly found any links as far as the potential benefits and harms of e-cigarettes are concerned, and this may reflect division in the medical community on the appropriateness of promoting e-cigarettes as a safer alternative to the real smoking, the authors noted in the journal Tobacco Control.

Senior study author Amanda Amos, a researcher at the Center for Population Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, said by email, "Because e-cigarettes are relatively new products we are only beginning to learn about the health risks."

E-cigarettes are created to simulate the real thing, with a glowing tip that throws out a cloud of vapor. There's a battery and heating element inside and a cartridge that holds nicotine and other liquids or flavorings, FOX News noted.

Though the nicotine inside e-cigarettes is still addictive, it's possible that e-cigarettes might be safer considering that they don't actually burn tobacco.

Amos and colleagues conducted 12 focus groups and 11 individual interviews with people who had quit smoking with the past years as well as current smokers. No prizes for guessing, most participants viewed smoking as a form of addiction and believed willpower played a crucial role in quitting.

Almost all of them had tried e-cigarettes at least once.                 

E-cigarettes are usually viewed to be different from other nicotine replacement products such as gum, patches that are designed to help people quit. Since general practitioner give nicotine alternatives to smokers trying to quit, the study participants thought of these alternatives as medical products, according to records on ZEE News.

But that's not all, people were less clear about what their intended purpose or correct use might be as far as using e-cigarettes are concerned. Nevertheless, they were seen as less directly linked to smoking cessation than patches or gum.

While some saw e-cigarettes are a more satisfying replacement to smoking, others viewed them as less desirable or even as a threat to smoking cessation.