Electronic cigarettes and tobacco heating systems do not prevent cancer, World Health Organization (WHO) experts said.

They urge not to believe the statements of manufacturers of such products about their safety.

The seventh WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic states that tobacco giants are trying to position themselves as a responsible health partner, offering more “safer” alternatives to regular tobacco products, but in fact, little is known about the short-term and long-term risks of smokeless products and their promotion by producers has only one goal - to achieve the preservation of social acceptance of tobacco.

The report also says that the tobacco industry hoped to increase its respectability with manipulative statements such as their products being part of a harm reduction strategy. However, regular cigarettes still account for 97% of the tobacco market.

According to him, e-cigarettes containing nicotine, but not tobacco, were offered as a way to give up smoking. But there is no evidence that they really help. Moreover, US data showed that the opposite is true: e-cigarettes increase the number of young people who smoke.