Several media (including ours) have taken up the subject of an AFP dispatch on the WHO report 2019 tobacco that denounced the indisputable harmfulness of the electronic cigarette. The Pr Bertrand Dautzenberg, tobacco specialist, former pulmonologist at La Pitié Salpêtrière and fervent defender of the e-cigarette prefers for his part to qualify this information.
« THE WHO ANNUAL REPORT IS NOT NEW«
If he has already spoken through the social network Twitter a few days ago, the Professor Bertrand Dautzenberg also confided in our colleagues from Francetvinfo.fr.
« WHO remains cautious about its usefulness and its potential danger because there is a lack of studies on the subject. But nothing new. "- Professor Bertrand Dautzenberg
The doctor thus reacts to the various articles published for two days in the press, using the title of an AFP dispatch indicating that, according to the WHO, " Electronic cigarettes are undeniably harmful". " WHO's annual report on tobacco published on 26 July does not include news about e-cigarettes“, Specifies Pr Dautzenberg.
If he agrees with the WHO on the importance of regulating the use of electronic cigarettes worldwide, the doctor said that, unlike other countries, this is already the case in France. It refers in particular to the ban on sales to minors, the strict rules of vaping in public places, the implementation of product standards and the very wide ban on advertising.
For him, the electronic cigarette remains a good way to quit smoking: “ I see it during my consultations. I recommend it as a supplement to medication and it works. Because if many patients give up the drugs, a majority continue to vapot, because this alternative solution suits them better. »
However, scientific evidence is lacking. But things are moving forward. A study (Ecsmoke) funded by the French government to prove that the electronic cigarette is as effective as drugs to stop smoking is ongoing. His results should be known in two years.
