French Health Agency Vaping lower risk than smoking- What It means for India’s tobacco harm reduction strategy

The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health (ANSES) recently released a comprehensive scientific assessment affirming that vaping carries significantly fewer health risks than conventional smoking, while highlighting that it’s not risk free. The conclusion is based on a review of more than 2,500 studies examining the toxicological impact of vaping.

The agency stresses that the primary distinction between vaping and smoking lies in the absence of tobacco combustion. Traditional cigarettes burn tobacco, generating high levels of toxic and carcinogenic compounds. In contrast, e-cigarettes heat a liquid to produce an aerosol containing far fewer harmful substances and in much lower concentrations. The report notes that 98% of adult vapers in France are current or former smokers, and 61% engage in dual use. Daily vaping prevalence stands at 6.1%, while daily smoking has dropped to 18.2%, its lowest level since the late 1990s. These figures reinforce that vaping remains primarily a harm-reduction tool for smokers, not a recreational product for non-smokers.

Jonathan Livingstone-Banks, PhD, a Lecturer and Senior researcher in evidence-based healthcare at the University of Oxford said, “Our research has found that there is very strong evidence that e-cigarettes are an effective way to help people quit smoking tobacco. While e-cigarettes are unlikely to be completely safe, we can be confident that they are far safer than smoking tobacco.”

For India, where smoking-related disease remains a major public-health challenge, the ANSES review offers valuable scientific insight for policymakers and health professionals to evaluate the role of alternative nicotine delivery systems. While complete cessation is always the safest option, however, evidence increasingly shows that regulated e-cigarettes expose users to fewer harmful chemicals than combustible tobacco. For a subset of adult smokers, such products may provide a limited, transitional pathway to reducing toxic exposure, provided they are used responsibly, within a cessation framework

ANSES underscores that while vaping is less toxic than smoking, evidence on the long-term effects of sustained e-cigarette use remains limited. It therefore categorises vaping risks as “possible” or “probable,” compared with the well-established, high risks of conventional smoking.

ANSES states that non-smokers should not start vaping. However, for smokers unable to quit through other methods, e-cigarettes may serve as a transitional harm-reduction alternative, ideally within a structured cessation plan aimed at eventually stopping both smoking and vaping. The agency also warns that its conclusions apply only to regulated devices and liquids sold through authorised channels. Unregulated or illicit products may contain undisclosed additives, inconsistent nicotine levels, or harmful contaminants, significantly increasing health risks.