Globally, there is growing concern about the potential risks associated with e-cigarette use (vaping), including short and long-term health risks, the presence of harmful chemicals, the nicotine content either stated on the vapes or mislabelled and variable, and the consumption becoming a gateway to smoking cigarettes with high youth appeal.
There is no definitive answer to what the best policy solutions are to control the use of e-cigarettes around the world, as different countries have different legal, cultural and social contexts that influence health policy to affect the regulation and use of e-cigarettes.
What is driving an ongoing debate if not division between countries and/or scientists and policymakers — is how the scientific evidence on vaping or the use of e-cigarettes should be translated into policy and which policy solutions are effective and not only politically opportune.
Comprehensive policy solutions need to consider their differential impacts on different groups of e-cigarette users or potential users, such as current smokers, former smokers, never-smokers, dual users (who use both e-cigarettes and combustible tobacco products), and vulnerable populations (such as youth, pregnant women, or people with mental health conditions).
Therefore, effective policy solutions that are based on the best available evidence, tailored to the specific context and needs of each country or region, and evaluated for their effectiveness and unintended consequences - are the goal of creating this research topic as a platform for the exchange of evidence and experiences.
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