From: Philly.com
Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter
(HealthDay News) — Strict regulation of electronic cigarettes isn’t warranted based on current evidence, a team of researchers says.
On the contrary, allowing e-cigarettes to compete with regular cigarettes might cut tobacco-related deaths and illness, the researchers concluded after reviewing 81 prior studies on the use and safety of the nicotine-emitting devices.
“Current evidence suggests that there is a potential for smokers to reduce their health risks if electronic cigarettes are used in place of tobacco cigarettes and are considered a step toward ending all tobacco and nicotine use,” said study researcher Thomas Eissenberg, co-director of the Center for the Study of Tobacco Products at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
The study, partly funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, was published July 30 in the journal Addiction.