The Irish Cancer Society has said it cannot recommend e-cigarettes to help people stop smoking until further research is carried out into the long-term health implications. Britain's Royal College of Physicians (RCP) said on April 28 that such devices were likely to bring benefits for public health and should be widely promoted to smokers to help them quit tobacco.
Responding, the Irish cancer charity said that while it recognised e-cigarettes were safer than tobacco, it could not recommend them for use as a smoking cessation device until further research was carried out.
"We continue to monitor developments in the field closely, but as today's report notes the health effects of long-term use are as yet unknown. Long-term research into the health impacts and patterns of use are required," a spokesman said.
Minister for Children Dr James Reilly said he was "very concerned" about e-cigarettes.
"We didn't have sufficient information
and I didn't want the 'perfect' to get in the way of the 'good' in relation to
including that in the legislation," Dr Reilly said. "But the evidence
is starting to pile up now that this is a serious problem."
Source: The Irish Times (28 April 2016) Reference: 110898
