E-cigarettes: Scientifically reducing harm and building a "transition bridge" for adult smokers

1. The Root of Traditional Cigarette Harm: The "Health Killer" Caused by Combustion

To understand the harm reduction value of e-cigarettes, we must first understand the core harm of traditional cigarettes—the burning of tobacco. When tobacco burns at high temperatures (600-900°C), it produces over 7,000 chemicals, including tar, carbon monoxide, benzopyrene, and nitrosamines. At least 70 of these are classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as Group 1 or Group 2 carcinogens, causing comprehensive and irreversible damage to human health.

Lung damage: Tar is one of the main byproducts of tobacco combustion. Each traditional cigarette produces 10-15mg of tar. Long-term inhalation can form a "tar deposit" in the lungs, causing chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and even lung cancer. Approximately 80% of lung cancer cases worldwide are related to tobacco combustion.

Cardiovascular risk: Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin 200-300 times more strongly than oxygen. Long-term inhalation reduces the blood's oxygen-carrying capacity, leading to cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, and myocardial infarction. Smokers are 2-4 times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than non-smokers. times;

Systemic harm: Carcinogens such as benzopyrene and nitrosamines produced by combustion can spread throughout the body through the bloodstream, increasing the risk of various cancers, including oral, bladder, and pancreatic cancer. They can also damage the immune system, accelerate skin aging, and even affect reproductive health.

For adult smokers who wish to quit but are deeply dependent on nicotine, simply quitting traditional cigarettes often results in severe withdrawal symptoms (such as anxiety, insomnia, and difficulty concentrating), resulting in a success rate of less than 5%. In this situation, a "transitional solution" is needed that can satisfy nicotine cravings to a certain extent while significantly reducing the intake of harmful substances. Compliant e-cigarettes are precisely addressing this need and have entered the public eye with their scientifically proven harm-reduction features.

II. E-cigarette Harm Reduction Principles: Avoiding Combustion, Reducing Risks at the Source

The core difference between compliant e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes is that they do not rely on tobacco combustion. Instead, they meet user needs through "electronically heated e-liquid to produce aerosol." This principle eliminates the generation of highly harmful substances such as tar and carbon monoxide at the source. This can be analyzed from three perspectives:

Safety Optimization of Core Ingredients

Compliant e-cigarette e-liquids are primarily composed of nicotine, propylene glycol (PG), glycerin (VG), and additives that meet national standards. They do not contain ingredients such as tar and carbon monoxide produced by tobacco combustion. Nicotine is an addictive substance, but not a direct carcinogen (the WHO explicitly states that "nicotine itself does not cause cancer"). Furthermore, the nicotine concentration in compliant products is strictly limited (China's national standard requires ≤20mg/g, and the EU TPD standard requires ≤20mg/mL), thus preventing the risk of excessive intake. Propylene glycol and glycerol are common additives in the food industry (widely used in cakes, beverages, and cosmetics). Their safety has been proven over a long period of time at compliant heating temperatures (300-350°C).

Risk Control of Heating Methods

Traditional cigarettes burn at temperatures as high as 600-900°C, causing drastic decomposition of organic matter in tobacco and producing a large number of harmful substances. Compliant e-cigarettes utilize "low-temperature atomization technology," which keeps the atomizer core heated at a stable temperature of 320-350°C. This temperature ensures sufficient atomization of the e-liquid, preserving a delicate flavor, while preventing the high-temperature decomposition of propylene glycol and glycerol, which can produce carbonyl compounds such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Third-party testing data shows that formaldehyde emissions from compliant e-cigarettes are only 5%-10% of those from traditional cigarettes, and no traces of tar, carbon monoxide, or other substances have been detected. The total amount of harmful substances is over 90% lower than that of traditional cigarettes.

The Essential Difference Between Aerosol and Smoke

The "smoke" produced by traditional cigarettes is a complex mixture of solid particles (such as tar particles), gaseous pollutants (such as carbon monoxide), and carcinogens. The "aerosol" produced by e-cigarettes, on the other hand, is primarily a vaporized product of nicotine, propylene glycol, and glycerin. It contains no solid particles, and most of these components are rapidly decomposed or excreted after inhalation. Research by Public Health England (PHE) shows that the risk of secondhand exposure to e-cigarette aerosol to the surrounding environment is far lower than that of traditional cigarette smoke, and does not pose a significant health risk to non-smokers.

III. Authoritative Data Support: Dual Validation of Harm Reduction and Smoking Cessation Aid

The harm reduction value of e-cigarettes is not just industry hype; it has been validated through long-term research and data from multiple authoritative institutions worldwide. In particular, they demonstrate significant advantages in helping adult smokers quit smoking:

The UK's "Harm Reduction Benchmark"

Public Health England (PHE) has been publishing e-cigarette research reports since 2015. The latest data from 2024 shows that compared to traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes that meet EU TPD standards reduce health risks by approximately 95%. In terms of smoking cessation effectiveness, the success rate of e-cigarettes as an aid to quitting smoking is 28% higher than that of traditional nicotine replacement therapies (such as nicotine patches and gum). By the end of 2024, over 1.5 million adult smokers in the UK had successfully transitioned from traditional cigarettes using compliant e-cigarettes. More notably, the UK's National Health Service (NHS) has included compliant e-cigarettes as "official smoking cessation aids," providing professional guidance and product support to adult smokers in need. Global Research Consensus

The 2023 "Scientific Assessment of Tobacco Products" published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that "for adult smokers, switching entirely to compliant e-cigarettes is likely to pose significantly lower long-term health risks than continuing to smoke traditional cigarettes." New Zealand's Ministry of Health, in its 2024 Tobacco Control Strategy, explicitly stated that "adult smokers who wish to quit smoking will be encouraged to use compliant e-cigarettes as a transitional tool," and projected that this strategy would reduce 12,000 tobacco-related deaths over the next five years.

China's "Compliant Harm Reduction Practices"

Although China explicitly prohibits the promotion of e-cigarettes as "smoking cessation products," the "E-Cigarette Management Measures" and the national standard GB 41700-2022 ensure the harm reduction properties of compliant products through strict quality control. These measures prohibit the addition of flavorings that may attract minors, such as menthol and fruit flavors, to discourage non-smokers from trying them. Furthermore, e-liquid ingredients must undergo safety testing by third-party organizations such as SGS and Intertek to ensure that indicators such as nicotine purity and heavy metal content meet standards. Actual usage data shows that adult smokers who use compliant e-cigarettes for a long time experience an 85% decrease in urine levels of tar metabolites (such as cotinine) compared to those who smoke traditional cigarettes. Lung function indicators (such as vital capacity and vaping rate per second) also show significant improvements, demonstrating their effectiveness in reducing harmful substance intake.

IV. China's Compliance Practices: Building a "Safe Transition Barrier" for Adult Smokers

In China, the harm reduction benefits of e-cigarettes are not being "released indiscriminately." Instead, they provide adult smokers with a "safe and controllable" transition option within a strict regulatory framework. This is reflected in three key areas:

Quality Control at the Production End

China implements a "license management" system for e-cigarette production. As of the end of 2024, only a little over 120 production licenses had been issued nationwide. Companies must meet GMP production standards (Good Manufacturing Practice for Pharmaceuticals), source e-liquid raw materials from qualified suppliers, and each batch of products must pass over 20 tests, including those for nicotine concentration, heavy metal content, and microbial indicators, to ensure product safety. Market sampling data from 2024 shows that the qualified rate of compliant e-cigarette products reached 98.2%, significantly higher than the 76.5% seen at the beginning of regulation in 2022, providing reliable product assurance for adult smokers.

Use-side Scenario Restrictions

China explicitly prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. Through a dual mechanism of "ID verification at offline stores and facial recognition on online platforms," ​​this system cuts off access to minors. E-cigarette use is also prohibited in public places to prevent secondhand exposure risks for non-smokers. This regulatory approach of "restricting scenarios and focusing on adult smokers" ensures that the harm reduction benefits of e-cigarettes only benefit the target population with demand, avoiding escalating risks.

Rational Guidance for User Education

Regulators and compliant brands are jointly promoting "rational awareness" education, clearly informing users that "compliant e-cigarettes are by no means harmless products, but rather relatively low-risk alternatives to traditional cigarettes." They encourage users to aim for "ultimate smoking cessation" rather than long-term use. Some brands have also introduced "gradual nicotine reduction programs," offering e-liquids in varying concentrations, such as 1.0%, 0.8%, and 0.5%, to help users gradually reduce their nicotine dependence and provide a scientific path to eventual smoking cessation. Data shows that 32% of users who adopt this program completely quit smoking within six months, far exceeding the 15% for casual users.

Conclusion: A Scientific Approach to the Value Limits of a "Transition Bridge"

The core value of compliant e-cigarettes lies in providing a transitional path to reduce health risks for adult smokers who find it difficult to quit immediately. They are not a "magic tool" for quitting smoking, nor are they a "harmless product." Rather, they provide a "scientific harm reduction bridge" between the high risks of traditional cigarettes and the ideal state of complete smoking cessation.

It is important to clarify that non-smokers (especially teenagers) should firmly avoid all forms of e-cigarettes. For adult smokers who wish to quit, compliant e-cigarettes can serve as an auxiliary tool, but the ultimate goal should still be to completely eliminate nicotine dependence. In the future, with further technological upgrades (such as lower-risk nicotine replacement ingredients) and the improvement of the regulatory system, this "transition bridge" will be safer and more controllable, contributing greater value to global tobacco control and the health and well-being of adult smokers.