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There is a growing body of evidence that suggests e-cigarettes can reduce craving and alleviate nicotine withdrawal symptoms, Riccardo Polosa, director of the Institute of Internal Medicine and Clinical Immunology, University of Catania, Italy, told the conference.

The effect on craving seems to depend predominately on the ‘ritual’ – such as holding a device or cigarette and the feel between your lips, he said. Withdrawal depends more on nicotine dependency than the ritual. Nicotine e-cigarettes could prevent the impairment in working memory that is reported by some people who quit smoking, he told the summit.

E-cigarettes might also reverse some of the harm caused by smoking, Professor Polosa noted. For example, systolic blood pressure declines when people with high-normal blood pressure (systolic blood pressure 130-139mmHg) or grade 1 hypertension (systolic of 140-159mmHg) switch to e-cigarettes to replace or reduce tobacco. E-cigarettes also improve lung function, respiratory symptoms and subjective asthma outcomes, in quitters and dual users, he said.

On some measures (e.g. the methacholine bronchial challenge test) the improvement in lung function after people switch to e-cigarettes is similar to that produced by corticosteroids, Professor Polosa said, adding that the e-vapour did not trigger acute asthma symptoms.

“E-cigarettes may be a helpful alternative to cigarettes in smokers with elevated blood pressure,” he remarked. “They are a safe alternative to cigarettes in smokers with chronic airways disease.”