E-cigarettes could save millions of lives, WHO told

A group of 53 leading scientists has warned the World Health Organisation not to classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products, arguing that doing so would jeopardise a major opportunity to slash disease and deaths caused by smoking.

The UN agency, which is currently assessing its position on the matter, has previously indicated it would favour applying similar restrictions to all nicotine-containing products.

In an open letter to WHO director general Margaret Chan, the scientists from Europe, North America, Asia and Australia argued that low-risk products like e-cigarettes were “part of the solution” in the fight against smoking, not part of the problem.