About this Research Topic

Background

Globally, there is growing concern about the potential risks associated with e-cigarette use (vaping), including short and long-term health risks, the presence of harmful chemicals, the nicotine content either stated on the vapes or mislabelled and variable, and the consumption becoming a gateway to smoking cigarettes with high youth appeal.

There is no definitive answer to what the best policy solutions are to control the use of e-cigarettes around the world, as different countries have different legal, cultural and social contexts that influence health policy to affect the regulation and use of e-cigarettes.

What is driving an ongoing debate if not division between countries and/or scientists and policymakers — is how the scientific evidence on vaping or the use of e-cigarettes should be translated into policy and which policy solutions are effective and not only politically opportune.

Comprehensive policy solutions need to consider their differential impacts on different groups of e-cigarette users or potential users, such as current smokers, former smokers, never-smokers, dual users (who use both e-cigarettes and combustible tobacco products), and vulnerable populations (such as youth, pregnant women, or people with mental health conditions).

Therefore, effective policy solutions that are based on the best available evidence, tailored to the specific context and needs of each country or region, and evaluated for their effectiveness and unintended consequences - are the goal of creating this research topic as a platform for the exchange of evidence and experiences.

Ethics Statement for the tobacco industry:

In accordance with Frontiers’ Conflict of Interest (COI) policy, for any research article that is sponsored through commercial funding, the role of the funder must be declared to Frontiers in Public Health in full. If that source of funding is tied to the vested interests of the tobacco or e-cigarette industries or affiliated organizations, it will be rejected without passing into peer review.

If undeclared funding information of this type comes to light post-publication, a formal correction or retraction in full will take place. If a researcher is affiliated with, or otherwise incentivized by commercial tobacco or e-cigarette industries or affiliated organizations, the research article will not pass into peer review.

For industries other than tobacco a case-by-case evaluation will be made at Editorial level. There are potential situations of conflict of interest arising e.g. from the food or cosmetics industry or other industries that produce goods that are under scrutiny for safety or that may contribute to ill health.

All authors must download and complete a copy of the ICMJE COI disclosure form and send a copy to the corresponding author. The corresponding author will be required to include a summary Competing Interests statement for all authors in the manuscript.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: E-cigarettes, Health risks, Vaping policy, Youth appeal, Regulation

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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