Dutch doctors set up vaping hotline after research shows cancer link

Photo: Depositphotos.com
Photo: Depositphotos.com

Dutch lung specialists are launching a 24/7 hotline for doctors to report problems associated with smoking e-cigarettes, the AD said on Friday.

The decision follows the publication of new research in the US which shows a link between using nicotine-based vaping and cancer for the first time. The research, say Dutch experts, is ‘worrying’.

Some three-quarters of e-cigarette users in the Netherlands use liquids containing nicotine, the AD said.

On Monday, specialists called for a total ban on e-cigarettes on the grounds that they cause lung disease and do nothing to prevent smoking.

‘We want a complete ban on e-cigarettes in the Netherlands, Leon van Toorn, of lung specialists’ association NVALT told the AD.

The association said the number of Dutch people reporting lung problems after vaping has risen from three to eight. One patient had to be admitted to intensive care because of the severity of his symptoms.

Poison

The new hotline will be coordinated by the national poison information centre and the aim is also to collect samples of what people have been smoking when problems are reported.

The public health institute RIVM will research the liquids to try and identify patterns, the AD said.

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