CAMPAIGN group Fresh Smoke Free North East has welcomed a new report which says electronic cigarettes are a safer alternative to tobacco smoking.

So-called e-cigarettes have grown in popularity in recent years, but doubts have remained about their use, known as 'vaping'.

Now a report from the Royal College of Physicians says they are likely to be beneficial to public health.

The report also states:

  • They are not a gateway to smoking, since their use is limited almost entirely to those who are already using or have used tobacco.
  • Among smokers e-cigarette use is likely to lead to attempts to quit, attempts that otherwise would not have happened.
  • The possibility of some harm from long-term e-cigarette use cannot be dismissed due to inhalation of ingredients other than nicotine, but it is likely to be very small, and substantially smaller than that arising from tobacco smoking.

A recent survey by Fresh found that more than half (54 per cent) of smokers disagreed electronic cigarettes are less harmful to health – suggesting many are still split about their merits.

Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh, said: “There are many ways to help make quitting easier, but for smokers who find it hard to stop, the evidence is building that electronic cigarettes are a much safer option. We welcome this report.

"Tobacco is a product that kills one in two lifelong smokers and this level of risk is not comparable to electronic cigarettes.

“Stop smoking services in the North-East will also provide support to people using their own electronic cigarettes to quit.”