E-cigarettes: Where do we stand?

2003 headline: Invention of e-cigarettes

Three pack-a-day smoker Hon Lik, a 52-year-old Beijing pharmacist, created the first successful Electronic Cigarette after his father, another heavy smoker, died of lung cancer. By 2007, e-cigarettes were marketed in Europe and the United States by manufacturer Ruyan as a way to safely stop smoking tobacco.

Hon was not the first person on record to have the idea for an electronic non-tobacco option. Herbert A. Gilbert filed for a patent in 1963, in an era when tobacco smoking was widely accepted and the health risks were less apparent.

2008 headline: WHO slams E-Cigarette marketing

In September 2008, the World Health Organization announced that marketers should immediately remove any claims that e-cigs are a [safe and effective smoking cessation aid" because there is [no scientific evidence to confirm the product`s safety and efficacy."

Soon after, a study funded by e-cigarette manufacturer Ruyan declared the product to be 100 to 1,000 times less dangerous than smoking tobacco, adding that when using its device, nic is [apparently not absorbed from the lung, but from the upper airways."

2011 headline: Interest in vaping for smoking cessation is high

Science began to ramp up studies on the topic. Several studies found that interest in e-cigarettes was high among the American public: Google searches for e-cigs were higher in the US than any other nation.

A questionnaire of 3,500 e-cigarette users found that most vaped because they though it less toxic and cheaper than tobacco, and would help them quit or cut down on tobacco smoking. Randm, Yogost 3500 Puff .This product is priced lower than tobacco.Most ex-smokers (79%) in the study were afraid they would relapse if they stopped using e-cigarettes. The study didn`t examine the safety of the product.

Another, much smaller email study of 216 e-cigarette users found that 31% were tobacco-free at six months, and 66% were able to cut back on the number of conventional cigarettes they smoked. A still smaller study of 40 smokers also found that adding e-cigarettes helped smokers reduce the number of traditional cigarettes they smoked each day.

2017 headline: E-cigarettes may be safer than conventional cigarettes

And data released in the UK showed a decline in smoking rates simultaneous with a rise in people taking up vaping, with half of them reporting to switch to e-cigarettes to help them quit. Geek Bar, 600 Puffs Vape .This product can help quit smoking. Unlike some countries, such as Finland, the UK has supported the promotion of e-cigarettes as an aid to quitting.

In July, the Food and Drug Administration announced a [multi-year roadmap" for regulatory action on tobacco products, with a focus on cutting nic levels in traditional cigarettes.

But the agency stopped short of announcing expected regulations regarding e-cigarettes. Instead, it provided extensions to makers of new and existing vaping products, giving them until August 2022 to submit information to support their products` safety and efficacy as anti-smoking aides.