E-cigarettes and the burning issues around vaping - Science Weekly podcast

Ian Sample asks: how safe is vaping? Can it help people stop smoking? And should it be available via a doctor's prescription?

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If you're not a smoker, it may be hard to imagine the appeal of cigarettes. The idea of inhaling thousands of chemicals into your body just doesn't seem that tempting. It's hard to wrap your head around the addiction if you haven't experienced it and even more difficult to appreciate how hard it is to quit. But according to a new report released by Public Health England (PHE) electronic cigarettes are significantly safer than smoking and can offer a potential aid for smoking cessation. But how much do we really know about vaping and its risks? Is there consensus between scientists and the public? And should the NHS be encouraging the use of e-cigarettes to aid quitters?