The device has emerged as an alternative to conventional cigarettes and has been used as a harm-reducing measure, but it also carries risks
It was in 2003 that the first electronic cigarette as we know it today appeared. Invented by the Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik, it was a vaporizer of a liquid containing nicotine. The inspiration for Hon’s invention was his father, a smoker, who, despite having aggressive lung cancer, was unable to quit smoking.
Since then the sector has grown and the product has acquired new characteristics. A simpler and more technological design, flavors and colors that attract attention, inviting smells: all this to maintain, as much as possible, the ritual of smoking.
More than 20 years after its appearance, numerous studies on the device, with different results, divide opinions. But what do we know about electronic cigarettes? Am I here to stay?
Electronic cigarette vs conventional cigarette
An alternative to conventional cigarettes without involving the over four thousand substances released by the combustion of tobacco and inhaled with smoke, the main cause of illnesses in smokers: this has been the proposal of the electronic cigarette since its creation.
Also known as a vaporizer, the electronic cigarette is a device that heats a liquid which turns into vapor and is inhaled by the user. The liquid, composed of substances such as propylene glycol, glycerin, nicotine or others, is placed in a small tank that fits in the hand.
The e-cigarette is powered by batteries that activate an electric current in the device’s coil when the user presses the vape button. The coil generates heat that heats the liquid in the tank, and it is this liquid that is vaporized.
The main argument in favor of e-cigarettes is that, unlike conventional cigarettes, they would only constitute a reservoir of nicotine. This premise has motivated many comparative studies, from which it has emerged that the alternative is not as harmless as previously thought.
According to psychiatrist and Unicamp researcher Renata Azevedo, it has been proven that e-cigarettes have their risks. “New data has emerged on e-cigarette components that were initially unclear.”
The Pan American Health Organization, the regional office of the WHO in the Americas, believes that e-cigarettes are harmful to health and warns of the addiction they cause. According to the agency, “although their long-term health effects are not fully known, they are already known to release carcinogenic toxic substances or increase the risk of heart and lung disease.”
An example of this is propylene glycol, a compound that, if heated, can produce lesions in the oral cavity. “No one has smoked vapes for long enough to have cancer from it. There isn’t enough time. Cancer takes years to develop. But lab research indicates it’s possible that these cells in the lesion are at risk of developing the cancer. It’s a carcinogenic pre-injury,” explains Azevedo.
England is betting on harm reduction
In April 2023, England announced that it would distribute a free vaping kit to one million smokers as an incentive to stop smoking conventional cigarettes. The initiative is part of a package of measures presented by the government to reduce the number of smokers.
According to the British government, the measure called Swap to Stop is part of the strategy to reduce the number of smokers in the country to 5% by 2030. According to the 2022 British census, 12.7% of English people are currently smokers, which corresponds to 6.4 million people.
And the concern is not surprising. According to the Global Burden Study of Disease, conducted by the University of Washington in the USA, and which collects data on mortality and disability caused by 107 diseases, smoking is the main cause of preventable diseases and deaths in the world. . About half of smokers will die prematurely, losing on average about ten years of life.
It is estimated that smoking is responsible for 52% of cases and 25% of deaths from cancer, 35% of deaths from respiratory diseases and 12% of deaths from circulatory diseases.
“Vaporizers are an effective strategy [para reduzir danos causados pelo fumo]. As healthcare professionals, it is part of our duty to highlight vaping as something that can reduce harm,” said the regional medical director of the NHS (National Health Service), the British public health system, in a document released by the London Tobacco Alliance, an institution created by public health experts and local authorities to help the government achieve the goal.
“The message is very clear. We have national and international evidence to support e-cigarettes. We have a compelling government report telling us that vapes are safer than smoking cigarettes, and a review concludes that vaping is one of the most effective ways to stop smoking,” Irem Patel, clinical co-director of the London Respiratory Network, an NHS institute for respiratory medicine, said in the same paper.
For Azevedo, the available international data on smoking cessation is very weak. “The number of people who quit smoking cigarettes is substantial, but the number of people who quit smoking is not. What happens is a migration from nicotine consumption to another form of nicotine consumption.”
According to Azevedo, the issue of treating vaping as a harm reducer is very clear: before e-cigarettes become an alternative to conventional cigarettes, it is necessary to carry out a rigorous analysis and study it as a therapy. “If you want vaping to be interpreted as an alternative to quitting smoking, you have to treat it like a medicine, like a cure. But this hasn’t happened anywhere yet,” he adds.
Change in smoking habits and danger for adolescents
In Brazil, the percentage of adult smokers has seen a significant decline in recent decades due to numerous actions taken by the government, such as the ban on smoking indoors, which has been in force throughout the country since 2014. In 1989, 34.8 percentage of the population over 18 was a smoker, compared to 12.6% in 2019, the year with the most recent data.
On the other hand, data from IBGE’s National School Health Survey (PeNSE), carried out in 2019, reveal that 16.8% of adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 have already tried e-cigarettes.
“Even if the producers deny it, it has the whole adolescent look. It’s cute, it looks like a gadget, just the way teenagers like it. The smell and taste are also very attractive. The ritual has always been a ritual of charm, the cigarettes have gained the space they have gained because of this. These appeals are important [para a o sucesso do cigarro eletrônico]”, evaluates Azevedo.
These data raise the alarm for a change in the behavior of Brazilians regarding smoking. A country that has become a point of reference in the fight against smoking, with steadily declining rates, now sees an increase in the consumption of another type of cigarette.
“Smoking rates have declined dramatically in recent decades and there is concern that this will be lost because those who were not smokers are becoming smokers,” explains Azevedo.
Teenagers start smoking earlier
A 2021 study from the National Cancer Institute (INCA) also revealed that e-cigarettes may be a gateway to smoking. A movement that achieves exactly the opposite of what was intended with the product when it was created.
The research, which analyzed 25 other studies carried out in different countries, showed that “the use of e-cigarettes increases an individual’s risk of trying conventional cigarettes by almost 3.5 times, and by more than 4 times the risk of switching following conventional use”. cigarettes”, explains Liz Almeida, coordinator of Prevention and Surveillance at INCA.
For Renata Azevedo the financial question can explain this migration. “In Brazil, vaping is expensive for teenagers, cigarettes are cheaper. So, once addiction develops, you can’t continue vaping and switch to cigarettes. It’s the opposite of the exit door imagined in start,” he explains.
Treatment in SUS
A point of reference in the fight against smoking and in reducing smoking initiation, Brazil offers free treatment to those who want to quit smoking, through the Unified Health System (SUS). The protocol consists of two fronts: cognitive-behavioral and pharmacological therapy.
It all starts with group meetings, which function like therapeutic sessions. Participation in at least four meetings is recommended. From there, patients undergo an evaluation to understand their level of smoking and how to proceed with drug treatment.
This part of the treatment has two arms. The first of these is nicotine replacement, with patches. “We replace the equivalent of what the patient smokes and do a gradual reduction each month over three months,” explains Azevedo.
The second is the use of bupropion, a complementary substance present in antidepressants, which reduces the desire to smoke. “In their initial research, it was discovered that patients suffering from depression who used this drug began to report that they smoked less. They evaluated it and realized that due to its structure it helps reduce the desire to smoke and prevents weight gain,” says the Unicamp researcher.
The treatment is available in more than 4 thousand health units, according to the SUS itself. To access it you need to request information from local health centers. If the protocol will be carried out on site, a time will be set. If not, the patient will be referred to a unit that performs the procedure.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
