The electronic cigarette: taking stock seven years on

Seven years after it appeared on the French market, it is time to take stock of the electronic cigarette. Frequently criticised, it is also the subject of a national survey whose figures are worth setting out.

What the Santé publique France survey reports

A great many smokers have tried the electronic cigarette, and for a number of them the switch was a lasting one. According to the study “Usage de la cigarette électronique, tabagisme et opinions des 18-75 ans”, carried out for the Baromètre de Santé publique France in 2017, more than 700,000 people have stopped smoking with the help of the electronic cigarette.

The same survey reports that, after trying vaping, many smokers went on to cut down on or set aside conventional cigarettes. Of the 64.5% of respondents who were daily smokers, 39.7% stopped using tobacco. More than half of the smokers questioned, 58.6%, say they turned to the electronic cigarette in order to stop smoking, while 31% say they did so in order to reduce their tobacco consumption. Vapers, according to the survey, are more often men and more often hold a qualification.

The electronic cigarette nonetheless remains controversial

The risks associated with vaping are still little documented. There is not yet enough hindsight to establish what they amount to. In the meantime, the electronic cigarette has a fairly negative image with the public.

Of the 25,319 people questioned for the study, more than half consider the electronic cigarette to be as harmful as the conventional cigarette, or more so. The reasons are various, but the presence of nicotine in e-liquids does little to reassure French respondents. It is worth recalling that 12% of vapers use e-liquids without nicotine.

For the time being, the scientists cited by the survey maintain that emissions from electronic cigarettes are less toxic than tobacco smoke. They stress that only long-term data will confirm or refute that position.