Скачать или смотреть No clarity on the health impact of e-cigarettes: Dr TK Jayakumar

In the discussions about tobacco harm reduction, there are talks about whether e-cigarettes can be a gateway. It is true that regulation of products is highly difficult in the Indian situation, but there are also worries about introducing less harmful, but addictive substitutes because there is no clarity as to whether they will create more harm than good. One cannot with surety, say how children will react to the availability of e-cigarettes, even if it is available only via prescription.

As a cardiac surgeon, I get to see a lot of patients stop smoking and tobacco dependence is mostly psychological. We have many examples where bans failed to give results. Kerala has a big alcohol addiction problem, and efforts to bring down consumption have failed miserably. Lozenges and gums have not been successful, leading to the opinion that only strict regulation is the answer.

Policy Circle organised a roundtable to discuss tobacco harm reduction on September 4 at India International Centre. The speakers were:

Dr K Madan Gopal, Senior Consultant, Niti Aayog.
Dr MC Misra, Former Director, AIIMS, New Delhi.
Dr GC Khilnani, Chairman of PSRI Institute of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine.
Dr Bharat Gopal, Director, National Chest Centre, New Delhi.
Dr TK Jayakumar, Professor and HoD, Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Government Medical College, Kottayam.
Dr Sunita Gupta, Professor at Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, New Delhi.
Dr Suneeta Mittal, Director, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute.
Dr Atul Ambekar, Professor, National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, AIIMS.
Dr Pawan Gupta, Director, Surgical Oncology, MAX Institute of Cancer Care.
Dr Sunil M Raheja, Former Medical Superintendent, GB Pant Hospital, New Delhi.
Dr Preeti Gupta, Associate Professor, Cardiology, Safdarjung Hospital.