The American Cancer Society (ACS) has updated its position on electronic cigarettes and in the process, exhibited the evolving nature of their evidence based recommendations.
In stark contrast with their previously stated position on e-cigarettes, which was in opposition to their use since 2014, the ACS is now recommending that smokers be encouraged to use electronic cigarettes as smoking cessations to help them quit smoking cigarettes.
“The ACS recommends that clinicians support all attempts to quit the use of combustible tobacco and work with smokers to eventually stop using any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes.”
While the recommendation is made in the context of e-cigarettes being “less harmful than smoking cigarettes,” the ACS also notes that the potential long-term health implications of e-cigarettes remains unclear at this time.
“Based on currently available evidence, using current generation e-cigarettes is less harmful than smoking cigarettes, but the health effects of long-term use are not known.”
By the American Cancer Society’s account, “the exclusive use of e-cigarettes is preferable to continuing to smoke combustible products.” But while the ACS now stands behind liquid nicotine vaporizers (e-cigs) as less harmful alternatives to conventional cigarettes, they are continuing to recommend that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) exercise its regulatory authority over electronic cigarettes to its “full extent.”
“The ACS encourages the FDA to regulate all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to the full extent of its authority, and to determine the absolute and relative harms of each product.”
The ACS also made a point to applaud the FDA’s efforts to address the addictiveness of nicotine contained within cigarettes – presumably a nod to the FDA’s newly proposed policy aimed at reducing nicotine levels in cigarettes to minimal or non-addictive levels.
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