RKI smoking still the biggest health risk - Are e-cigarettes and tobacco heaters good alternatives?

Latest data on smoker behavior in Germany

How many people are still smoking? In which groups is smoking the most common? What are the dangers of e-cigarettes? How many people get sick and die due to smoking in Germany? These and other questions were addressed by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in a recent study.

According to the Institute, smoking is the most dangerous preventable cause of chronic illness and premature death in 2018 as well. For this reason, the behavior of smokers is the central theme of the current Federal Health Gazette of the Robert Koch Institute.

Although smoking is on the decline, tobacco use remains the largest preventable health risk in Germany. (Image: pixelrain / fotolia.com)

Smoking and cancer

As the RKI reports, it may take decades for changes in smoking behavior in the population groups to be reflected in cancer cases. In 2010, 72,000 cancer cases were attributed to smoking. According to RKI, this represents 23 percent of all cancer cases in men and 8 percent in women.

Number of smokers is dropping

"Since the beginning of the 1990s, the proportion of smokers has fallen in almost all age groups," write the RKI experts. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the decline in the younger age groups has fallen significantly. The RKI attributes this decline significantly to the numerous tobacco-preventive campaigns and measures, such as the ban on advertising and smoking bans in public areas.

Prevention still important

"Nevertheless, due to the still high proportion of smokers in the medium term continues to be massive health consequences of the tobacco consumption of the population," said RKI President Lothar H. Wieler in a press release. Therefore, it is necessary to promote tobacco prevention measures as well as smoking cessation. Wieler advocates that more modern media should be used. As an example, he calls the "Smokerface app", which uses a selfie to calculate how the face changes over time through smoking.

Are e-cigarettes a suitable alternative??

E-cigarettes and tobacco heaters have become increasingly popular for several years. Although these electronic inhalation products absorb fewer pollutants than conventional tobacco cigarettes, "health risks and the addictive potential remain," the RKI researchers warn.

Tabacco heaters are less harmful than e-cigarettes?

The manufacturers of tobacco heaters claim that the devices are even less harmful than e-cigarettes, since no chemical vapor is inhaled from a liquid. Instead, ordinary tobacco is heated to about 350 degrees Celsius. A research team from the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) analyzed the amount of toxic substances that arise when operating a tobacco heater system and compared these with conventional cigarettes. From this analysis, it was found that with tobacco heaters actually significantly less pollutants arise. According to the BfR, heating causes 80 to 95 percent less aldehydes and 97 to 99 percent less volatile organic compounds.

Less pollutants, but the addiction remains

"When heating tobacco, significantly less carcinogenic substances are produced," concludes the BfR. The delivered nicotine content, however, is comparable to that of a conventional cigarette. For a fight against addiction, a tobacco heater is therefore only limited suitable. For help with smoking cessation, see the article "Quit Smoking." (Vb)