Doctors say e-cigs have quit role

Fifty percent of US physicians see a role for electronic cigarettes as part of a tobacco harm reduction strategy, according to a story by Will Offit for Healio.com citing recent study findings presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology’s annual meeting.

Researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine sent an anonymous online questionnaire to all residents, fellows and faculty in the departments of internal medicine and surgery at Saint Louis University, and received 114 responses (51 percent).

The researchers found that 57 percent of respondents knew what vaping meant, nine percent were ‘very familiar’ with electronic cigarettes and 26 percent were not familiar with these devices.

If asked by patients, 15 percent of physicians reported that they would advise electronic cigarettes as nicotine-replacement therapy.

Nineteen percent were aware of the presence [in e-liquids] of carcinogens, 38 percent were aware of the presence of polyethylene glycol, and 91 percent were aware of the presence of nicotine.

Seventy-six percent of respondents were worried about the lack of evidence regarding long-term safety, 50 percent about the idea of electronic cigarettes as starter products for non-smokers, 51 percent about the absence of Food and Drug Administration regulation and 42 percent about marketing to young people.

Fifty-four percent of respondents wanted stricter regulation, 53 percent wanted warning labels similar to tobacco products, 36 percent wanted restricted advertising, 34 percent wanted a ban on sales to minors and 25 percent wanted a ban on vaping in public ‘areas’.

The researchers concluded that further research was needed to assess whether electronic cigarettes could be an effective smoking cessation tool. ‘There is an apparent knowledge gap among physicians and an urgent need for evidence based guidelines to aid with advising smokers enquiring about e-cigarettes,’ they said.