Are Electronic Cigarettes a Gateway to Smoking?

ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES: A GATEWAY TO SMOKING? Over 2,000,000 people now use electronic cigarettes - but are they a gateway to or an exit from smoking? We take a look at the evidence. WHO USES ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES? Existing Smokers 1/3 2/3 Ex Smokers Children regularly using electronic cigarettes* Existing Smokers - 5% *once a week Non-Smokers 0% or more JUST 0.1% OF ECIGARETTE USERS HAVE NEVER SMOKED WHY PEOPLE ARE USING ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES? EX SMOKERS "To help me stop 71% smoking entirely" 48% "To help keep me off tobacco" CURRENT SMOKERS "To help me reduce the 48% amount of tobacco I smoke, but not stop completely" 37% "To save money compared with smoking tobacco" WHICH IS MORE EFFECTIVE AT GETTING PEOPLE OFF TOBACCO CIGARETTES? Nicotine Electronic Replacement Therapy Cigarettes 10% 19.9% %23 ALMOST TWICE AS EFFECTIVE AS NRT! "Despite claims that use of electronic cigarettes risks renormalising smoking, we found no evidence to support this view. On the contrary, electronic cigarettes may be helping to reduce smoking as more people use them as an aid to quitting." Professor West, Smoking Toolkit Sources: www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_891.pdf http://nicotinepolicy.net/commentary/86-g-krol/861-new -research-shows-electronic-cigarettes-better-for-quitting -than-no-air-over-thecounter-nrt-worse-than-no-aid www.smokinginengland.info/latest-statistics/ www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk