Electronic cigarettes considered at least as harmful as traditional cigarettes by a majority of French people

The fourth Barometer of the National Cancer Institute (InCa) shows that while the electronic cigarette is known by almost all French people, the perception of its dangers remains very approximate, while a majority of its consumers do not use this product with the aim of weaning themselves off.

The Inca Cancer Barometer, based on a five-year study carried out on a representative random sample, seeks to understand the perception and attitudes of the French towards electronic cigarettes.[1].

The electronic cigarette now known to all French people

The electronic cigarette, whose commercial development began in the early 2010s, is now known to almost all French people, since 99.6% of the population surveyed indicated that they were familiar with this new nicotine product. As explained by the Cancer Barometer, this massive awareness can be explained by the proliferation of dedicated sales areas, by the presence of consumers in public spaces, or by promotional efforts on the part of manufacturers, including illegal ones, such as on social networks.

A device considered at least as harmful as traditional cigarettes by a majority of French people

The health risks of electronic cigarettes, particularly in the long term, are still little known. In the current state of scientific knowledge, the consumption of this new product would probably be less harmful than that of manufactured cigarettes. However, as the Inca Barometer shows, a majority of French people consider that electronic cigarettes are as or more harmful than traditional cigarettes (52.9%).

Furthermore, the French largely believe that nicotine is a carcinogenic product (82.7%), and that it is harmful to health (75%). In reality, nicotine does not directly cause cancer, although it is considered a poison. However, because it is particularly addictive, nicotine consumption exposes smokers to health complications. Finally, nicotine poses cardiovascular risks, and could have negative consequences on mental health (anxiety, depression, etc.)[2].

Men and younger generations are more likely to consume e-cigarettes

According to the Barometer, e-cigarettes are regularly used by 7.5% of French people, two points more than in 2020 data. Overall, 40.7% of men have already tried vaping, compared to a third of women (33.3%). Unsurprisingly, more young generations have tried e-cigarettes, with more than half of 15-24 year-olds saying they have used them at least once in their lives.

Furthermore, 48% of e-cigarette users claim to consume this product with a view to quitting smoking, suggesting that more than one in two users of this device do not have this objective. Similarly, while the current state of scientific literature tends to show that consuming e-cigarettes is less dangerous for health than traditional cigarettes, provided that traditional cigarettes are completely stopped, a significant proportion of e-cigarette consumers are also smokers, since this dual practice, called vaping, concerns 16.7% of them.

In light of these results, the National Cancer Institute considers that the attractiveness of electronic cigarettes could be a brake on the denormalization of smoking. With this in mind, and considering that the prevalence of smoking is decreasing among young men, the Inca believes that "the place of the electronic cigarette must be questioned", in particular in order to better understand behaviors, the different methods of consumption, in order to avoid introducing younger generations to smoking.

FT

[1] National Cancer Institute, Cancer Barometer 2021, 01/16/2023, (accessed 01/30/2023)

[2] National Committee against Smoking (CNCT), Is nicotine a poison?, (accessed 01/30/2023)