Archives: Seminars

For a science press officer in the UK, there was no more boring subject in recent decades than smoking – until around 2013 when e-cigarettes began to take centre stage.  Governments and health bodies were divided, and a subject which had enjoyed almost universal consensus became suddenly controversial.  The UK government signalled their backing to… Read more »

The lungs represent a vast interface between the outside world and the human body through which inhaled products can be absorbed. The risks posed by such inhalants have been considered by users, regulators, and researchers in attempts to quantify the risk and come up with sensible policy recommendations and advice on the relative risks and… Read more »

VESUVIUS, the British Heart Foundation-funded clinical trial is believed to have been the largest study undertaken to-date in comparing the impact of  tobacco vs e-cigarettes on cardiovascular health, with the findings published by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The SCHEER preliminary opinion on electronic cigarettes (EC) states that there is strong evidence… Read more »

Cochrane reviews are accepted as the gold-standard for investigating the evidence of potential harms and benefits of healthcare interventions. The Cochrane review of electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation was first published in 2014. A recent update, published in October 2020, now finds increased evidence of benefit for e-cigarettes with nicotine when used to quit smoking…. Read more »

On request from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Public Health England (PHE), the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) reviewed the potential toxicological risks from electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The Committee assessed the absolute risks from use of ENDS to former cigarette smokers,… Read more »