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Affiliation
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Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medecine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, antoine.flahault@unige.ch. |
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Abstract
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Electronic cigarettes (ecigs) were invented in 2004 in China and emerged in 2006 in the USA and Europe. Ecigs were initially manufactured mostly in China, but they are now also produced in other Asian countries, the USA and Europe. Tobacco companies entered this competitive market only recently, initially by purchasing existing brands (e.g., Blu, Green Smoke, Nicolite, E-Lite). In terms of public health, the production, use, and promotion of ecigs are the subject of heated controversies.
Cigarettes kill 6 million people each year globally (WHO 2104). Preventing tobacco smoking is therefore at the top of the public and global health agendas, and has led to an international treaty under the auspices of WHO, the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (Shibuya et al. 2003). Governments have implemented several interventions aimed at reducing smoking, including tax increases, smoking bans in public and working areas, and media campaigns. Major successes have been reported in many, but not....
Language: en |