will we ever be able to find electronic cigarettes prescribed in pharmacies?

The positions between pro and anti-electronic cigarette seem irreconcilable. The Minister of Health has indeed opened a small door for him to the possibility of obtaining certain cigarettes on prescription, this will be one of the points of discussion of the next tobacco plan of the government. For François Braun, they can help reduce nicotine addiction and gradually quit smoking. However, some institutions are far from being of the same opinion, and not the least.

>> Health: the Puff, banned in several European countries, in the crosshairs of health officials in France

The World Health Organization, for example, recently considered electronic cigarettes to be a dangerous substance to be regulated at all costs. A dangerous product in the sense that the electronic cigarette can, according to the WHO, increase the risk of pneumopathy or heart disease. Overall, the health authorities remain cautious, like the High Council for Public Health, for which there is a lack of perspective. There are not enough data to decide. The risk-benefit ratio would therefore be difficult to assess. When in doubt, the High Council therefore recommends that doctors favor classic nicotine substitutes and not direct their patients to electronic cigarettes.

The electronic cigarette, a medicine?

For many specialists, the electronic cigarette is an excellent way to quit smoking and this is what the Academy of Medicine or the High Authority for Health says. Better to vape than to smoke, according to her, because we remind you that the electronic cigarette apart from nicotine does not contain all the toxic products of the cigarette. No combustion either, which reduces the risks.

According to a study conducted by British researchers in 2019, the electronic cigarette would be twice as effective for weaning as conventional nicotine substitutes. A similar study is underway in France led by the Hospitals of Paris. But from there to prescribing electronic cigarettes in pharmacies… The discussions of the government’s next tobacco plan are likely to be lively.