Electronic cigarettes are currently the subject of intense debate. This article aims to analyze the most controversial aspects regarding the use of electronic cigarettes by smokers and nonsmokers, considering the threats and the opportunities involved. For this purpose the scientific evidence regarding their toxicity, the problem of their use by non-smokers, especially the young, and their potential utility to help give up smoking are examined. The implications that their use has for addiction to nicotine in smokers and non-smokers are discussed. It concludes that the evidence on the potential of electronic cigarettes to reduce damage and facilitate giving up smoking is limited but thoughtprovoking. Electronic cigarettes can only be an opportunity to improve the control of tobacco once there is suitable regulation by health authorities and when any risks and threats to public health that may result from their use can be detected and controlled.
Carrasco Pozo, María del Carmen. El vapeo que nos confunde: oportunidades y amenazas del cigarrillo electrónico. En: Revista Española de Drogodependencias, 2015, Vol. 40, No. 1: 62
