Tobacco Control Leaders Call for a Balanced Assessment of the Risks and Benefits of Nicotine Vaping.

Introduction:
This text is a summary of an editorial by Martin Dockrell and John N. Newton discussing the controversy surrounding nicotine vaping products, also known as e-cigarettes, and their role in tobacco control. The authors highlight the differing perspectives between the US and the UK on the risks and benefits of e-cigarettes and call for a more balanced assessment.

Key Points:

* Early divisions among public health experts have led to polarized coverage in the media, confused messages to the public, and inconsistent policymaking between jurisdictions.
* The potential health harms of e-cigarettes and youth-vaping concerns have been overriding considerations in many US authorities, while others have balanced those risks against the potential benefits for smokers.
* More evidence is becoming available, but integrating that evidence into a holistic view of the risks and benefits associated with nicotine vaping products remains a challenge.
* Fifteen past presidents of the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco have reviewed the evidence underpinning US policy on nicotine products, mainly e-cigarettes.
* Population surveillance data show that youth smoking continues to fall and at a faster rate than before, suggesting that vaping has contributed to this decline.
* The number of nonsmoking young people who might be at risk from the potential harms of nicotine addiction is far smaller than the number of smokers at real and evident risk of serious harm from their smoking.
* Measures to discourage vaping, such as flavoring bans, taxes, and e-cigarette sales restrictions, may reduce smoking cessation and protect smoking.
* Overemphasis of the risks of vaping leads to cognitive bias and risks stealing the industry's clothes, becoming the new merchants of doubt.

Main Message:
The main message of this text is a call for a more balanced assessment of the risks and benefits of nicotine vaping products. While it is essential to address the concerns about youth vaping, it is equally important to recognize the potential benefits for the many people who still take their nicotine the old way and who often experience multiple disadvantages. Antivaping policies are underpinned by a commendable passion to protect youth welfare and a fear that the hard-won reductions in youth smoking could be lost. However, policymakers must strive to balance harm with the potential benefits for the many smokers who may still benefit from these products.

Dockrell M, Newton JN. Tobacco Control Leaders Call for a Balanced Assessment of the Risks and Benefits of Nicotine Vaping. American journal of public health. 2021;111(9):1570-1571. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2021.306458