A new study suggests that 9 out of 10 people mistakenly believe that nicotine is extremely harmful to health. In reality, the damage to health is caused by the tobacco present in cigarettes.
In the UK, a new report from the Royal Society for Public Health addresses a myth about the dangers of smoking that has endured for decades. This research suggests that 9 out of 10 people mistakenly believe that nicotine is very harmful to health, when in reality it is not more dangerous than the concentration of caffeine in a cup of coffee.
Shirley Cramer, Director General of the RSPH, declared: “ That getting people to use nicotine instead of tobacco would make a big difference to public health. »
«It is clear that it is a problem to have people addicted to nicotine, but it would allow us to avoid smoking related illnesses as well as serious and costly public health problems. This answers the question of substance addiction which in itself is not really dissimilar to caffeine addiction. "
The health problems are clearly caused by tobacco which exposes smokers to chemicals such as tar and arsenic. Tobacco also contains nicotine, but according to the new report, this used alone is not 
not harmful. Moreover, according to research, nicotine replacement products such as gums, patches and e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than the cigarettes themselves.
Le RSPH calls for these products to be made mandatory in stores that also sell tobacco in order to provide safer options for substitutions. He also asks that e-cigarettes be renamed " nicotine stick " or " spray In order to distance them as far as possible from terms evoking "tobacco".
Despite this, some medical experts continue to say that nicotine leads to certain risks, the Dr. Hamed Khan, a general practitioner and professor at St George's Hospital School of Medicine in London, said: “ Nicotine addiction is obviously not the ideal. " According to him " There is some evidence that nicotine can increase the risk of heart disease and also potentially increases your blood pressure. »
In the end, it's still fair to say that nicotine replacement products can be useful tools in helping smokers quit smoking for good.
Source : news.sky.com
