“For the WHO to suggest that e-cigarettes are as risky as other tobacco products would send an erroneous and bleak message to the millions of current e-cigarette users who have used them to quit smoking,” Robert West, a University College London researcher and a signatory of the letter, says in a statement. “It would discourage smokers from trying them and we would miss out on a major opportunity to reduce smoke-related deaths globally.”
The researchers believe that the 1.3 billion people worldwide who current smoke would do far less harm to their health by using e-cigarettes or other vaporizers, which deliver nicotine but don’t include tobacco. The jury is still out on the health effects of these cigarette alternatives, so for now the researchers just say that the WHO should ensure that it bases its policy on sound data.
Via Scientists say e-cigarettes could save millions of lives, warn against strong regulation @ The Verge.