ReviewHarm reduction journal2021
Critical appraisal of the European Union Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) Preliminary Opinion on electronic cigarettes.
Review in Harm reduction journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Electronic cigarettes and health outcomes: umbrella and systematic review of the global evidence.The Medical journal of Australia · 2023Pooled it
- Responses to e-cigarette health messages among young adult sexual minoritized women and nonbinary people assigned female at birth: Assessing the influence of message theme and format.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2022Trial
- Toxicity and Appeal of Flavoured E-Cigarettes and Flavour Ban Outcomes: A Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Review
- Elemental composition of vaping and smoking aerosols: Influence of liquid type and tank conditions.PloS one · 2025Article
- Delphi consensus methodology to gauge expert perspectives on smoking prevention, cessation and harm reduction in Italy.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- Patterns of Use of e-Cigarettes and Their Respiratory Effects: A Critical Umbrella Review.Tobacco use insights · 2025Review
- Document analysis of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World's scientific outputs and activities: a case study in contemporary tobacco industry agnogenesis.Tobacco control · 2024Article
- Reducing attractiveness of e-liquids: proposal for a restrictive list of tobacco-related flavourings.Tobacco control · 2024Article
- An ingredient co-occurrence network gives insight into e-liquid flavor complexity.Tobacco induced diseases · 2024Article
- Perceptions of harmfulness of heated tobacco and nicotine vaping products compared to cigarettes, and the association of advertising exposure on harm perceptions among adults who smoke in South Korea: Cross-sectional findings from the 2020 ITC Korea Survey.Tobacco induced diseases · 2023Article
- Do Young People Perceive E-Cigarettes and Heated Tobacco as Less Harmful Than Traditional Cigarettes? A Survey from Poland.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Is "less than 5 by 35" still achievable?Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2021Article
- Smoking cessation or initiation: The paradox of vaping.Preventive medicine reports · 2021Article
- Respiratory and Cardiovascular Health Effects of e-Cigarette Substitution: Protocol for Two Living Systematic Reviews.JMIR research protocols · 2021Article
- Effects of Providing Tailored Information About e-Cigarettes in a Web-Based Smoking Cessation Intervention: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn preparation for the 2021 revision of the European Union Tobacco Products Directive, the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) has posted its Preliminary Opinion on Electronic Cigarettes. They concluded that e-cigarettes only achieve a sub-optimal level of protection of human health. In this paper, we provide evidence that the Opinion's conclusions are not adequately backed up by scientific evidence and did not discuss the potential health benefits of using alternative combustion-free nicotine-containing products as substitute for tobacco cigarettes.
methodsSearches for articles were conducted in PubMed and by citation chasing in Google Scholar. Articles were also retrieved with a review of references in major publications. Primary data from World Health Organization surveys, the conclusions of reviews, and peer-reviewed non-industry studies were cited to address errors and omissions identified in the Opinion.
resultsThe Opinion omitted reporting on the individual and population health benefits of the substitution of e-cigarettes (ENDS) for cigarette smoking. Alternative hypotheses to the gateway theory were not evaluated. Its assessment of cardiovascular risk is contradicted by numerous reviews. It cites ever-use data that do not represent current patterns of use. It did not report non-nicotine use. It presented erroneous statements on trends in ENDS prevalence. It over-emphasized the role of flavours in youth ENDS initiation. It did not discuss cessation in sufficient length.
conclusionsFor the delivery of a robust and comprehensive final report, the members of the Working Group of the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks will need to consider (1) the potential health benefits of ENDS substitution for cigarette smoking, (2) alternative hypotheses and contradictory studies on the gateway effect, (3) its assessment of cardiovascular risk, (4) the measurements of frequency of use, (5) non-nicotine use, (6) the role of flavours, and (7) a fulsome discussion of cessation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.