Even though the debate on e-cigarettes is coming back to the fore with the recent opinion of the High Council for Public Health, some organizations are showing real disagreement on the use of vaping in smoking cessation. This is the case of Respiratory Health France who decided to take sides by saying that "yes", the electronic cigarette can help with tobacco weaning.
"WE COULD EXPECT THE HCSP'S CONCLUSIONS..."
Not easy today to take a stand for the e-cigarette even though the scientific world remains divided on the subject. However, Respiratory Health France did not hesitate for a second to oppose the opinion of the High Council of Public Health who stated that " potential benefits and risks "of the use of electronic cigarettes" are not established to date ».
For the Dr Frederic Le Guillou, pulmonologist-allergist, tobacco specialist and president of the French Respiratory Health association, that's not fair!
« These conclusions could be expected from the HCSP; the referral requiring them to compare a medicine subject to the rigor of the MA with a product for everyday consumption and having to its credit only rare studies of poor quality. This illustrates two visions: evidence-based medicine within the framework of a collective approach, versus the use at the individual level of a widely distributed product. »
However, he adds a caveat: However, we must place ourselves there in a societal management of tobacco addiction and not only pharmacological “, he hastens to add. " This is the limit of the scientific approach. Indeed, with the aim of lifting addiction, it is not necessary in my opinion to settle on a purely scientific but more global level, and to know how to exploit the aids which have not necessarily responded to the same validation procedures, namely cognitive-behavioral therapies, hypnosis, acupuncture, etc. »
And Dr. Le Guillou assumes his position: « I disagree with the opinion of the HCSP when it advises doctors against using it because, most of the time, we find ourselves within the framework of a shared decision, and moreover the e-cigarette is not issued on medical prescription. With nicotine substitutes, we do not respond to 75 % of people requesting smoking cessation. From the moment a patient consults us and invests in this type of approach, he is entitled not to want nicotine substitutes, of which we know the limits, and the professional should be able to offer him other solutions. This applies to all the methods that can help with weaning, at the individual level. »
We should go beyond science, adds the pulmonologist; " This is part of the medical service rendered to the patient, even without prescription, and with benevolence: wanting the good of the other without imposing his own version of the good on him (quote from Alexandre Jollien, philosopher). There is Evidence-Based Medicine but also Evidence-Based practice medicine, which is based on human and cognitive sciences, complementary to medicine, and for a humanistic approach to care.. »
