The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has released a joint policy statement with the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) outlining the latest research on the use of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and recommendations for policy makers to prevent further addiction to nicotine.

The updated statement builds on an earlier joint AACR/ASCO statement from 2015, which called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate ENDS products in order to address the growing rate of ENDS use among youth and young adults.

The new statement was simultaneously published in the AACR’s journal Clinical Cancer Research and ASCO’s Journal of Clinical Oncology this morning.

AACR states that the popularity of ENDS among young people and adults who do not smoke continues to be a significant public health problem that threatens to derail decades of progress against tobacco use.

Both organisations are alarmed by the rapid increase in the number of high schoolers using these products which fuel addiction to nicotine, as well as the growing body of evidence that suggests ENDS expose users to carcinogens while also increasing the likelihood that individuals will begin using other tobacco products, such as cigarettes.

Dr Margaret Foti, CEO of AACR noted: "The policy statement published today emphasises the urgent need for bold regulatory action and additional long-term research so we can mitigate the danger of these devices and maintain the momentum against cancers caused by tobacco use, the number one modifiable cause of cancer. Most urgently, the statement calls for a comprehensive prohibition of all non-tobacco flavoured products that contain nicotine due to the key role of flavoured tobacco products in youth initiation. The statement also calls for taxes on all nicotine-containing products in order to reduce overall tobacco use; funding for cessation initiatives; improved insurance coverage of evidence-based cessation therapies; an end to predatory advertising practises; and stronger regulatory enforcement. Please follow the link below to the full statement to read about the advances in scientific understanding of this important issue and the complete list of policy and research recommendations."

Source: The American Association for Cancer Research