Nicotine And Cancer: Are You Among The Misinformed?

The biggest misconception: Well over half of surveyed smokers believed that nicotine was the cancer-causing culprit in cigarettes.

Nicotine does not cause cancer, but dozens of other chemicals found in tobacco products do, according to researcher Virginia Reichert, NP. Studies so far show that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches are far less harmful than smoking.

Most of the toxic chemicals in cigarettes are not present in e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches. According to Cancer Research UK, a cancer research and awareness charity in the United Kingdom, nicotine is addictive but does not cause cancer.

Most damage to health caused by smoking is due to tar. Researchers from United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) stated that “…it is primarily the toxins and carcinogens in tobacco smoke — not the nicotine — that cause illness and death.”

In fact, other chemicals in smoke, such as benzo[a]pyrene, tobacco-specific nitrosamines, and benzene, are the primary causes of smoking-related diseases.

There are 4,000 chemicals in every cigarette. People smoke because they are addicted to nicotine, but they are getting 3,999 other chemicals, too.

Two hundred of those chemicals are poisonous and 43 are known carcinogens. Professor Michael Russell, a renowned physician once said, “people smoke for the nicotine but die from the tar”. This sentiment needs to be echoed more in today’s society where there’s a gross misunderstanding when it comes to nicotine.

It’s the burning that causes the harm. Consuming nicotine without any burning is the same as getting a caffeine rush from drinking hot coffee. Most research points to cigarette smoke, not nicotine, as being the primary contributor to cancer among smokers.

The W.H.O understands this, so much so that they recommend nicotine patches and nicotine gum for smokers looking to quit smoking. People have used nicotine replacement therapy safely for many years. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is safe enough to be prescribed by doctors.

A lot of people assume that since combustible cigarettes, Snus, and nicotine pouches contain nicotine, then they must be equally harmful to one’s health. This is, however, is not the case. A World Health Organization (WHO) analysis of previous research argues that snus is unlikely to cause oral or gastric cancer. As a result of this research, the WHO suggests that snus may be an important method of harm reduction.

Electronic cigarettes, heated products, and nicotine pouches have become a well-established new product category in tobacco. There is growing scientific evidence that these non-combusting products have the potential to reduce the risks associated with smoking.

With these facts in hand, policymakers should implement tobacco harm reduction, a policy or strategy for tobacco users who cannot or will not stop, which includes the continued use of nicotine and is designed to reduce the health effects of tobacco use.

As with any other harm reduction initiative, such as bicycle helmets, its success is dependent on two factors; the potential of the intervention to reduce the risks associated with a particular activity and the number of people who adopt it. Reasonable, evidence-based, and proportionate regulation is needed to ensure high standards of consumer protection and to enable innovation of even better products.

By: Joseph Magero the Chairman, Campaign for Safer Alternatives.