E-cigarette science – is scaremongering hampering research opportunities?

We need more trials into the long-term impacts of e-cigarettes, but is disagreement between scientists over their effects putting people off taking part?

Whenever I tell anyone I research e-cigarettes, they almost always have an opinion about them. Some will be vapers themselves, and those who are will almost without fail sing the praises of the device that finally helped them quit smoking. But often people who've never tried e-cigarettes will focus on the potential risks from using them, and in particular whether they're likely to reintroduce smoking to a young generation who have been steadily shunning it in larger and larger numbers over recent decades. A particular fear is that young people will experiment with e-cigarettes and that this will be a gateway in to smoking, as well as fears around the harms from e-cigarettes themselves.

Related: Fears over e-cigarettes leading to smoking for young people unfounded - study