E-cigarette: the Agence France-Presse relays an untruth

Press Release

Paris, the 27 November 2014

It is with indignation that Fivape, Interprofessional Federation of the Vape, discovered the AFP dispatch of today devoted to the e-cigarette. Relaying a Japanese study, AFP indicates, with other media, that "electronic cigarettes are sometimes more carcinogenic than tobacco". Problem: this is simply false and does not correspond to the data published in the cited study!

The comments attributed by AFP to researcher Naoki Kunugita, according to which "for one of the brands analyzed, the research team found a level of formaldehyde which reached more than ten times that contained in a traditional cigarette", differ from what is written in the post.

In addition, the study cited in no way analyzes the two main families of carcinogens in tobacco smoke: tars (including benzopyrene) and nitrosamines, but a third family of irritant and potentially carcinogenic products, aldehydes.

Contacted by Fivape, Professor Konstantinos Farsalinos, "external editor" of the Japanese study, declares that "the levels of formaldehyde present in the e-cigarette aerosols detected (...) were on average 4,2 micrograms, with the highest level recorded at 35 micrograms. Knowing that tobacco smoke can contain up to 200 micrograms, it is obvious that e-cigarettes expose their users to formaldehyde levels 6 to 50 times lower than those found in tobacco. [1] "

The untruth reported by the AFP dispatch, making vaping appear more dangerous than tobacco, can only arise from a gross error or a desire to manipulate the truth. This study on first generation e-cigarettes and other studies previously published or expected, never show a more harmful nature of vapor compared to tobacco smoke. Electronic cigarettes used under normal conditions do not expose to carbon monoxide and do not present any carcinogenic risk.

The products of the vape disturb some interests because they open an unprecedented perspective of reducing the risks of smoking. In this regard, the French professionals of the vape are working on the publication of XP standards in January, through the AFNOR and in consultation with all stakeholders (public authorities, consumer associations, laboratories). These standards aim to ensure the constancy of the quality and safety of the products of the vape placed on the market.

Call for mobilization: let's demonstrate the true potential of vaping!

Faced with attempts to destabilize vaping, Fivape calls on vapers, the media and French scientists to independently tackle the subject of e-cigarettes, like the work undertaken by laboratories and several French universities. In view of the scourge of smoking, while thousands of doctors see the instantaneous benefits of vaping in smokers on a daily basis, there is a collective responsibility not to cheat with reality! Let us sincerely pursue the improvement of knowledge of this innovation, let us also agree together on the advantages of vaping compared to tobacco, which is responsible for the death of 73 French people each year.