Tobacco control efforts across the European Union (EU) have greatly reduced the prevalence of cigarette smoking. But now, many of the same countries are witnessing a rise in vaping, especially France, Poland, and the Netherlands. This could have long-lasting health impacts as one addiction is replaced with another, experts warn.
E-cigarettes have become the most popular approach used by tobacco smokers in Europe as an aid to stop smoking.
But, not only is “the evidence for smoking cessation uncertain, there are also chances of prolonged use of both,” said Andreas Stavropoulus, professor of periodontology at Malmö University in Sweden and chair of the European Federation of Periodontology’s (EFP) scientific committee.
In early September, the EFP released a statement expressing concerns about the increasing prevalence of vaping amidst recommendations by health professionals to use it as a transition strategy to stop smoking. The statement warns that vaping e-cigarettes can be as harmful to gum and oral health as smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes, which can in turn increase the risk for systemic diseases.
“There are a few case-control studies comparing vapers/e-cigarette users with non-smokers or never-smokers, indicating a negative health impact,” Stavropoulus told Univadis. “The damage on the gums and tissues supporting the teeth, often to an irreversible state, is a likely adverse effect of vaping.”
Nicotine, a primary culprit
The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that e-cigarette emissions are harmful. Not only do they contain nicotine, they also contain various additives, flavourings, and toxic chemicals that pose dangers to the vaper and by second-hand exposure. The long-term impact in adolescents and young adults is unclear, but nicotine use at an early age has been linked to deleterious effects on the brain and potentially learning disorders.
Vaping by 11- to 17-year-olds has exploded in recent years across Europe – likely the effect of advertising, social media, and growing interest in gatherings involving hookah pipes. Coupled with early efforts to use these devices to help tobacco smokers quit, increasing use in adults led to EU-wide action in late 2022, with the European Commission decreeing a prohibition on flavoured, heated tobacco products.
The EFP is now calling on oral healthcare professionals to prioritise smoking cessation for both cigarettes and e-cigarettes, also joining EU and WHO efforts to support better oral health through greater awareness and provision of universal oral healthcare throughout the globe.
In June, “the EFP joined the Platform for Better Oral Health in Europe and, through this body, it has the opportunity to give feedback to the WHO, and exchange scientific knowledge and approaches to gum health and disease from a tobacco-fighting perspective,” said Stavropoulus.
For further reading, Univadis covered a session on this topic at the European Respiratory Society’s annual congress in Milan: ERS 2023 – E-cigarettes: New Data Fuel Ongoing Debate.
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