The figures mark a strong increase in interest in the new products since the DKFZ commissioned the first survey on the use of e-cigarettes in 2012. By that year, only six percent of the smokers surveyed reported having tried e-cigarettes. In 2013 the number had risen to 14 percent; and in 2014, 19 percent of the smokers and almost nine percent of all survey participants (including smokers, former smokers and non-smokers) stated that they had tried the products at least once. Less than one percent of the respondents, however, use e-cigarettes on a permanent basis. “In Germany, we are currently not witnessing a substitution of tobacco cigarettes by e-cigarettes," says Dr. Martina Pötschke-Langer, who heads the Cancer Prevention Unit at the DKFZ and commissioned the survey. “This reflects a dual trend in consumption: it is mostly younger people who try the products. They do so for a short time but do not favor them permanently."
Although the number of users of e-cigarettes is rising, almost three quarters of survey participants are against using them in public, smoke-free areas and think that the smoking ban in restaurants and bars should also apply to e-cigarettes. This is the view not only of non-smokers and former smokers but also of more than 55 percent of smokers. The same rate of smokers also generally approve of the ban on smoking in the catering industry.
The World Health Organization (WHO), which just concluded its Conference of the Parties in Moscow, also recommends banning the use of e-cigarettes in non-smoking areas. When e-cigarettes are used, inhalable particles and small amounts of carcinogenic substances are released, thus affecting the quality of air. Moreover, smokers who see someone consuming an e-cigarette may feel like having a “real" cigarette, which makes them smoke more and weakens their motivation to quit.
The publication from the DKFZ states that e-cigarettes should be subjected to further regulation – similar to tobacco products – for the effective protection of youth and adults from potential nicotine addiction and its resulting health hazards. Appropriate measures would include, for example, a ban on selling e-cigarettes to youth and a ban on the use of flavors that appeal to children. The recommendations appear in the “Government recommendations for electronic inhalation products" (“Regulierungsempfehlungen für elektronische Inhalationsprodukte").
The publications are available for download at www.tabakkontrolle.de